Dani Girl
by LilyBelleMichele188
Summary: Danielle "Dani" Swan was a normal girl living with her single father in a normal small town in the middle of rainy Washington State until her fraternal twin sister Bella moves in from Phoenix unwittingly igniting a dramatic chain of events that reveals the true supernatural nature of the world around them.
1. Chapter 1

(Hello beautiful people! Here is fanfic I wrote based upon the Twilight saga which I finally feel comfortable with sharing with you all. I hope you enjoy the story so far and my OC Danielle. For those of you reading my other incomplete stories, I do plan continuing most of them. Just been busy as of late and lacking in proper inspiration haha. Happy reading and have a great day! I own nothing but my OCs.)

...

"But Bella, you hate Forks. Why would you want to move here when Florida would be so much more like Phoenix?" Danielle asked, her phone squished between her head and shoulder as she worked on the steaks she was cooking for dinner.

Bella and Danielle normally called each other at this time of day to talk, but of all the things Dani expected her sister to tell her, the announcement that she was moving in with them in Forks was not one on the list.

"Because..it's complicated!" Bella sighed as Danielle turned the steaks and checked the time. "Besides spending some more time with you and Dad would be good for me, wouldn't it? I mean all the family books say it." She mumbled.

Danielle rolled her eyes at how bogus that sounded. "Bells, it rains here like all the time and when it doesn't rain it snows, both of which I know you hate. You tell me all the time when Dad I go to Phoenix. What more do I have to say?" She checked the timer on the microwave then bent to check on the potatoes in the oven.

"Plus it's not like we have an extra bedroom here you could move into. We'd have to share my room and the one bathroom in this house." Danielle muttered, lightly swinging her hair out of way as she straightened to continue cooking the steaks.

"Danielle come on! You're acting like you don't want me to move in with you and I know you! You hate that we have to live apart as much as I do." Bella whined.

Danielle bit her lip and poked at the steaks with a spatula. "Yeah but..." She trailed off and sighed unable to finish her sentence. "Dani, it's final. I'm coming next week and I'm moving in with you and Dad. It'll be great. Trust me. Now we don't have to drive up Mom and Dad's phone bills with these long distance phone calls every day." Bella chuckled slightly.

Danielle laughed a bit with her. "Ha ha. Speaking of Mom though, what does she think about this?" She asked, happy really if she was being honest that her sister wanted to move in with her. At the same time though she had to wonder how their slightly hair brained Mother felt about this.

Both Danielle and Bella knew how much she relied on Bella everyday to help her keep everything in order. The thought of her trying to stay on her own in Jacksonville while their Stepdad went to baseball practices worried Danielle a little more than any daughter should worry about their Mother.

"Mom'll be fine." Bella answered readily. "We already talked about it and I told her I'm going more for you than for Charlie. She agreed it would be good for us to spend more time together since we're, you know sisters." She muttered.

Danielle giggled softly at that. "Yeah that sounds like her." She murmured still not completely convinced that their Mom would be okay without Bella.

"Plus you know, she has Phil to look after her. I think we can trust him to make sure Renee doesn't do anything too crazy." Bella added using her Mother's first name. Something Danielle never did since she knew her parents, (especially her Dad) didn't like it when Bella did it.

"I guess..." Danielle conceded. "Well you're still getting the bottom bunk when you get here since _I'm_ still less likely to roll off and break something. Also," She turned off the oven and grabbed the mitts before opening the door.

"I haven't been able to save up enough for a car yet so you'll have to ride to school in the patrol car, which I know you love so much." She teased, picturing her sister blushing like she always did when she was embarrassed or mad.

"Either that or get a bike like mine. Although with your level of clumsiness a bike probably isn't a good idea." Danielle teased her sister slightly she set the pan of steak fries on the stove top.

"Oh haha...very funny." Bella sighed. "For your information Danielle, I've been saving up for my own car so I won't have to ride with Dad _or_ get a bike. And if you ask nicely I might consider letting you carpool." She said smugly.

Danielle sighed and started to respond when she heard the front door open. "It smells good in here, Dani! What's cooking?" Danielle and Bella's Dad, Charlie called coming through the living room to the kitchen where he hung up his gunbelt and jacket on the wall.

Danielle turned and smiled at him as he came through the kitchen door. "Steak and fries Daddy." She put her hand over the mouthpiece briefly before returning her attention back to her sister.

"Mmm, that looks great." Dad said sniffing the aroma before wrapping his arms around his daughter. "You had a good day at school today?"

Danielle smiled and nodded her head as he gave her a scratchy kiss on her hair. "Yeah. Hey Bella? I got to go now. Dad's home and dinner's about finished over here. Call me with the dets on your move later?" She picked up the pan of fries and dumped them in a covered basket before reaching for the two plates she'd laid out earlier.

"Sure. Bye Danielle. Tell Charlie I said hi." Bella said softly. Danielle slid a steak onto each plate set them both down at the table. "Will do. Bye." She hung up the phone then set it down on the counter before going to grab the fries basket.

"Who were you talking to?" Dad asked like he did every night when he came home even though he knew there was only person Danielle talked to during this time of day.

"Bella," Danielle answered as if this were the first time he asked. "She was just telling me about her plans to move here with us since Mom and Phil are going move to Jacksonville with his team." She explained, grabbing the salad before sitting down at her usual place across the table from Dad.

Dad nodded his head and grabbed two cups from a cupboard. "Oh. So are you excited now?" He asked knowing that Danielle had been more or less on the fence about the news since Bella first broke the news to them two weeks ago.

Danielle shrugged her shoulders as Dad poured himself a beer and filled the other glass with water from the fridge. "Yeah, although Dad...we might want to think about getting an addition to the house. I mean not that I mind sharing my room again, but-."

"What? Are you afraid Bella might walk in on you and Jacob?" Dad laughed as he sat down and surveyed the meal before him.

Danielle blushed. "Dad, Jacob is not my boyfriend." She said for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Uh huh sure." Dad winked to let Danielle know he was teasing as usual. "That's why you hang out with him all the time and invite him over more than you do your girlfriends." He took a big a sip of his drink then picked up his fork and knife to cut into his steak.

"Daaad..." Danielle shot him a pleading look.

"But you know, I wouldn't be completely against it if you guys _did_ decide one of these days to take your relationship to the next level." Dad continued, smirking as he helped himself to some fries and a small serving of salad. "I'm sure Billy would be on board too. I mean you two are so-."

"Daaaad! Okay! This conversation is officially done. I'm done." Danielle cut a first bite of her own steak and popped it into her mouth.

"All right! All right! I'll stop." Dad chuckled and set his utensils down before reaching for a napkin. After wiping his mouth he spoke again.

"But seriously, would you really mind permanently sharing your room with your sister Dani? It's not like it lacks in closet space or anything and I can get you a privacy partition if you really need it." He asked.

Danielle shook her head. "No, that's okay." She responded carefully. "It's just I'm worried she won't like it here. I mean Bella's always hated Forks and anything to do with rain or snow. I'm not sure she'll be able to make it one week without begging you to book her a one way flight to Jacksonville."

Danielle reached for her water glass and took a long sip thinking of the last time Bella had visited Forks which was several years ago when they were thirteen.

Sure they had lots of fun together, but Bella always looked significantly relieved to finally be returning to Phoenix at the end of vacation.

Dad nodded as if considering. "Well...maybe she'll surprise you. After all you like it here, don't you? Maybe you can help her to like Forks better when she comes. Introduce her to your friends. Show her the sights." He picked up a steak fry and stirred it around in some steak sauce.

"Dad, she already knows all the sights." Danielle mirrored her Dad and stuck a fry into her own mouth.

Dad gave her a look. "Then introduce her to the kids you hang out with at school. Like your friend Angela. She's a nice girl. Maybe helping Bella make some new friends could be the key." He suggested.

 _Not likely._ Danielle thought knowing that Bella would get a lot of attention at school and in the neighborhood because of how small Forks was and how close knit most of the community was as a result.

If there was anything Bella hated more than rain and snow, it was getting too much public attention.

"I'll see." Danielle put her fork through her portion of salad and scooped some into her mouth to chew thoughtfully as she imagined her sister, blushing and stumbling around in the school hallways as she tried to navigate her way though a flock of students who've probably never met a new student in their life.

The imagery worried and amused her more than it probably should have.

...

"Danielle? What are you doing home so late Hon? It's after dark." Charlie asked in a half worried half reprimanding tone as Danielle let herself into the house later that evening, rubbing her hands together to warm them.

"Sorry Dad." Danielle peeled off her coat and hung it up in the closet before plopping down on the couch next to him. "Angela and I went to the diner for hot chocolate and then we started talking about the Spring Fling Dance while doing our English homework. I lost track of time." She explained.

Dad grunted in acknowledgement of his daughter's explanation. "Well...as long as you're okay. Next time call if you're going to be late." He ran his hand down his chin as Dani nodded in response.

"You know there have been more attacks right? Do you still have your pepper spray?" He asked turning to give his daughter a look.

Danielle sighed and leaned over to lay her head against her Dad's shoulder, noting the half eaten box of pizza laying open on the coffee table. "Yes Dad. Always." She snuggled up on the couch.

Over the past couple weeks some reports have been coming in to her Dad's office at the Forks P.D. concerning a series of mysterious murders occuring in Seattle.

Although Dad and the rest of the police force have been doing their best to help catch the killer responsible, so far their efforts have been turning up null and as a result he was always worrying about Danielle especially when she'd stay out a little late with a friend, though there haven't been any cases directly in Forks yet.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?" Charlie turned to look towards his daughter as she reached for a slice of pizza. "I've been thinking about what you said at dinner the other day. About how to help Bella like living here when she comes?" She took a small bite of her pizza and chewed it thoughtfully before continuing.

"I think we should get her some kind of welcome home present. You know maybe something that will remind her of Phoenix or at least helps her feel less homesick." Danielle suggested.

Dad raised his eyebrows then laughed a bit before wrapping an arm around his daughter's shoulders. "Well...funny you should say that Darling, because I've been thinking the same thing." He sat up suddenly on the couch and passed her a can of pepsi.

"In fact, I already got something for Bella."

"Uh oh." Danielle pretended to be overly worried at that annoucement. "What did you get her Dad?" She asked with a laugh, curling up on her side before taking another bite of her pizza.

Dad rolled his eyes back at her, well used to his daughter's teasing and occasional lack of confidence in him. "Just a little something I know she wants. Do you want to see it?" He asked.

Danielle raised an eyebrow. "Sure! Where is it?" She asked, popping open her drink and taking a sip. She felt both excited and nervous since she was well familiar with her Dad's surprises.

Sometimes they were good like when he brought her a slice of german chocolate cake after her violin recital last May and other times it was like when she turned eight and Dad "surprised" her by taking her on a half hour long fishing trip to La Push instead of taking her to the zoo like she wanted.

"On it's way here." Dad lifted up his arm to check his watch. "It should be getting here any minute now." He muttered, returning his attention to the game.

Danielle started to ask what he was talking about when her cellphone rang and she looked down to see Jacob Black's name flash on the screen. Quickly she hit the answer button and hopped off the couch to take the call in the kitchen.

"Hey Jake, what's up?"

"Hey! Not much. Just...heading up your way with a little surprise for your other half. What are you up to?" Jake asked, good humor in his tone as usual.

Danielle shrugged. "Just chillin with my Dad for a few seconds. I just got in a few minutes ago. What's the surprise?" She asked, hoping Jake would tell her.

"You'll see. We're almost at your house." Jake answered just as the sound of a car pulling up into the driveway of the house filled Danielle's ears.

Dani groaned dramatically and rolled her eyes. "Come on! Why can't you just tell me? I promise I won't spoil the surprise! You're such a pill!" She protested.

Jacob laughed. "Chill out Dani. I'm here already. No need to resort to name calling." He joked just as the sounds of car doors opening and shutting sounded softly through the house.

Turning towards the door, Dani ran outside still holding her phone to her ear as Jacob walked over from a large rusted red pick up truck. Behind him from the other side of the truck, another boy stepped out and joined Jake said as they made their way up the Swan's driveway.

Grinning when she saw her friends, Danielle hung up the phone and ran down the front steps to greet them, not hearing her Dad coming out behind her.

"Oh my God!...Oh my God! Are you guys serious?" Dani exclaimed as she met Jake near the top of her driveway.

Jake was laughing as Dani began to run around the truck. "It was your Dad's idea. What do you think? Think Bella will like it?" He asked, crossing his arms as Dani finished her lap around the truck.

Danielle beamed at her friends. "I think she's going to love it." She enthused.

At first glance the truck wasn't much to look at. It was an old model, probably at least twenty years old and painted a dark rusted red, but somehow Danielle could easily see her sister driving it.

Bella was never one for anything too flashy and the sturdy build of the truck was perfect for shielding her perpetually and hazardously clumsy sister.

"It's perfect for her." She said, biting her lip as she gave the vehicle another look and patted the hood of the truck. "This is such a sturdy car. It's so Bella." Dani started to ramble.

"Oooh-hoo! I think someone's jealous." Embry, the other boy who had accompanied Jake to Dani's house snickered causing Dani look back up sharply at him.

"Why would I be jealous?" She asked with a weak laugh as she saw the laughing look in Embry's eyes. Both Jake and Embry laughed together.

"Aww don't worry Dani, Embry and I started working on fixing something else up for you. It's not as big as this, but it'll be better than that hunk of junk you call a bike." Jake chuckled, patting the side of the truck affectionately as if it were a well bred horse.

Danielle narrowed her eyes slightly. "Hey! I happen to love my bike." She insisted, thinking of her beloved three speed which her Dad had gifted to her for her fourteenth birthday.

Of course all of her friends in the La Push reservation thought that it was hysterical that she biked all the way to the Rez from her house here in Forks. Jacob, Embry and Quil, another of Dani's good friends, especially got a huge kick out of it and always teased her for it.

Especially since Danielle got her driver's license the previous year.

"We know. Still, what we're working on will probably get you around faster and with less chance of you having to walk four miles because of a flat tire." Embry retorted with a grin.

"You boys aren't talking about giving Danielle what I think you are, are you?" Dad came up behind Danielle, standing at his full height and giving Jake and Embry a sharp warning look.

Jake quickly shook his head. "No Sir. It's just an old volkswagon beetle that was on its way to the junkyard before I got my hands on it." He explained quickly. "I just need to fix it up, give it a fresh paint job and then it will be ready for her to drive." He grinned.

Dad relaxed visibly at that. "Oh...I see. Well thanks for bringing the truck up Boys. Can I give you a lift back home in return?" He asked, scratching his head as he surveyed the truck himself.

Jake shrugged while Embry shrugged his shoulders. "It was no problem, Chief Swan. And thanks. A ride home sounds great." He said politely exchanging glances with Dani again. Embry nodded his agreement.

"Can I come too?" Dani asked, not really relishing a ride in her Dad's patrol car, but not really wanting to be left behind in the house either.

Dad nodded at her. "Absolutely. Come on everyone." He gestured with his arm, waving everyone towards his car. Jake, Embry and Dani quickly piled in, the boys in the back with Dani sitting up in shotgun next to her Dad.

"Dani." Jake leaned forward and tapped Danielle on the shoulder as Charlie slowly backed the car out of the driveway. "Make sure to bring Bella around to Rez sometimes after she gets here." He grinned.

Dani grinned back. "For sure. It might be fun." She responded, getting a little more excited for her Twin's impending arrival as they zoomed along the nearly deserted roads towards La Push.

 _Yeah, it's going to be great._

...


	2. Chapter 2

(Here is Chapter 2. Hope you guys enjoy it! Have a great day! I own nothing but my OCs.)

...

"What time did you say her flight was landing?" Danielle asked as she and her Dad waited by the doors of the airport for Bella to arrive.

It was a particularly chilly day and even in her insulated windbreaker jacket, Dani was shivering.

"Any minute now." Dad glanced at his watch then look back towards the arrival gate. Dani blew into her hands to warm them up.

As she was reaching to pull her knit hat down to cover her ears, Dani felt her cellphone vibrate and fumbled through her purse.

She answered quickly when she saw the caller ID flash across the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hi Danielle, it's Mom. Has Bella landed yet?" The soft airy voice of her Mother floated through the earpiece making Dani smile.

Although she isn't able to see her Mom for more than once or twice a year during the holidays, Dani relished every chance to get to talk to her especially since it didn't happen often with her Stepdad's vigorous baseball schedule.

"Hi Mom. No not yet, but Dad said she should be showing up any minute now. How are you?" Dani asked, leaning against the window despite how cold the glass was.

"Oh I'm fine...you know Phil's got another practice tonight and a game next week. With any luck we might make actually make it to the playoffs this season. How about you and Dad? Is he still scaring away all the boys?" Mom asked, giggling a bit though Dani didn't miss the soft sniffling sounds she was most likely trying to hide.

Dani laughed too.

"We're doing good. Dad still goes fishing every once and again, and I'm still taking violin lessons. And yeah, so far the only guys Dad doesn't try to intimidate are my friends from the Rez." She responded, hearing her Dad snort from the driver's seat of the patrol car.

"I think it's because he knows all their Dads and Granddads." Dani added with a grin.

"Well what about that really nice boy who was in that picture you sent me of you that one time? Jack? Or Jamie? You two look really cute together." Mom pressed and Dani rolled her eyes, blushing and sighing even though every conversation she'd had with her Mom since she turned fourteen always went in this direction.

"His name's Jacob. And he's just a friend." She insisted.

"Well he could be more than a friend you let him. Just like me and Phil." Mom countered easily, her tone wheedling. Dani groaned.

"Mom, he's my best friend. I don't want to ruin that." She pleaded twirling a piece of her hair around her finger as she straightened in her seat.

"Well all right. I'll just keep dreaming then and keep my fingers crossed." Mom chuckled. Dani sank down in her seat. "Moooom..." She groaned.

"All right. All right. I'll stop." Mom relented. Dani started to breathe in relief. "Thank you."

"Oh hey before I forget Honey, make sure you remind Bella to call or email me as soon as you guys get back home. I told her before she went to catch her flight in Phoenix, but remind her okay?" Mom suddenly changed the subject. Dani did not straighten her posture.

"Sure Mom." She nodded and looked up when her Dad tapped her on the head. "Here she comes." He muttered nodding in the direction of the airport.

Dani shoved herself up to a full upright position and peered out the window towards the doors where a crowd of people were quickly exiting towards the pick up lane.

Straggling along somewhere in the middle of the crowd was a young girl about Dani's height with the same dark brown hair and pale skin as Dani carrying a single yellow duffel bag over one shoulder.

Dani beamed when she saw her and reached to open the passenger side door of her Dad's patrol car.

"Mom, Bella just got outside. I have to hang up now okay?" She spoke into the mouthpiece of her phone, awkwardly sliding out of the car onto the sidewalk to meet her sister.

Dad was close behind her.

"Okay. Talk to you later then Sweetie. I love you." Mom answered quickly and Dani smiled. "Love you too Mom." She quickly hung up the phone just as Dad passed her.

"Hey Bells, good to see you again. Enjoy the plane ride?" Dad asked a bit awkwardly as he wrapped Bella into a short hug. Danielle hung back a bit, knowing how much her sister hated too much sudden attention even though she was just as happy as Dad was that Bella was here.

Bella hadn't changed much from the last time she'd visited. Her hair was still long and she still had the same pasty white skin complexion that totally contradicted the fact that she lived in Phoenix all her life.

At least she had the sense to remember to wear something less permeable to Forks. Danielle honestly wouldn't have been surprised if she left more than half of her Phoenix wardrobe behind since most of it would do her no good here.

"Yeah, it was great...Danielle! Hey! How are you doing?...It's been awhile." Bella shook her head, smiling though Dani could see her stuffing her hands into the pockets of her thin hoodie.

 _Oh yeah, she's definitely a Phoenix Girl._

"I'm doing good. What about you? I can't believe you're still so white after all that time in Phoenix." Danielle joked, knowing Bella would get it. She's been getting pale kid jokes almost all her life and Dani made this particular one every time Bella came to Forks.

Honestly Danielle would probably get them too if she lived in Phoenix, but with Forks' usually overcast and rainy climate, she had more of an excuse than her sister did.

"Ha Ha." Bella rolled her eyes and tried to flip her hair out of her eyes. "Come on Danielle, that joke is so old. Besides is that really all I get from my other half after all this time?" She asked slowly holding out her arms in a kinda awkward way since Bella almost never initiates hugs.

Not even with her sister.

Danielle giggled and met her halfway anyway. "Of course not, but you know I always have to mess with you first. That's what big sisters do." She and Bella hugged briefly then they let go as if something had shocked them.

"Mom called by the way. She wants you to email her or call her as soon as we get home." Dani grinned and Bella rolled her eyes good-humoredly.

"Of course she did. I wouldn't be surprised if she already sent me five emails in a row." She sighed. Dani giggled.

"Well, it's good to have you back again Bella." Danielle said really meaning it, even though she still wasn't 100 percent looking forward to sharing her tiny bedroom or the one bathroom in the house.

It felt nice to be the Swan sisters again like it was when they were kids and she and Bella visited each other more often. Bella smiled back.

"It's good to _be_ back. And you're only older by five minutes." She looked from Danielle to Dad then back at her sister again. "I can't wait to see what you've done with our room."

"You mean what _he_ did with our room." Danielle nodded at thier Dad who sighed and rolled his eyes a bit.

"Come on Dani, you make it sound like I performed a demolition project. All I did was put in a bunkbed and a dresser." He huffed as he led the way back to the car.

Bella looked concerned at what he said. "Wow, I didn't think that room had enough space for a dresser. What did you do? Knock out a wall Dad?" She asked.

Danielle laughed dryly at that. "Yeah I wish. He moved my bookcase out into the hall to get the dresser in." She crossed her arms and flopped down into the back seat of the car. Bella climbed in next to her dropping her bag on the floor.

"What?" Bella's eyes bulged from their sockets. "Just out into the hall. I knew you both would throw a fit if I moved it too far from the bedroom so..." Dad trailed off and got back into the driver's side to start the car.

Bella seemed to relax a bit at that.

"I figured Dani's closet would be too small to hold both of your clothes. So I got a cheap refurbished old bureau from a second hand store and set it up for you." Dad continued.

Dani turned to gauge her sister's reaction. "Oh...sounds great Dad. Uh..." Bella shook her head with a half smile on her face as if searching for the right words to say.

Dani sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just wait till you see how we painted it. I made sure to pick out the colors since I know what you can't stand." She smirked slightly and Bella grinned back.

"I'm sure it's great." She responded, leaning against the window as if suddenly finding the gray Washington traffic fascinating.

Dani turned to face forward in her own seat as Dad eased off the brake. "Speaking of things to see at home..." He trailed off and adjusted the rearview mirror before finishing.

"I found a good car for you, Bella. Really cheap." He announced making Bella look away from the window to him again.

Dani saw her eyes narrow in suspicion through her peripherals and concealed a grin. "What kind of car?" Bella asked as Dad pulled into the freeway.

Dad shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, it's a truck actually. A Chevy."

"You'll love it." Dani put in, nodding her head for emphasis. Bella still didn't look convinced. "Where did you guys find it?" She asked.

"You remember Billy Black down at La Push?" Dad asked and Dani looked at her sister expectantly. Slowly Bella shook her head.

"He used to go fishing us during the summer. You and Dani used to play with his boy in the mud while we fished." Dad tried.

Dani chuckled. "Remember that time we were making mud pies and then Jake got us with a huge mud bomb? We were so mad." She reminisced though Bella didn't laugh with her. Nor did she seem to remember who Jake or Billy was.

"No...that was like...years ago...wasn't it?" Bella tried, frowning as the car went over a pothole.

Dani shrugged. "I guess it was."

"The point is, Billy is in a wheelchair now and he can't drive anymore. He offered to sell me his truck cheap after I told him you were coming down." Dad continued.

Bella sighed as if taking in this information. "What year is it?" She asked carelessly. Dani noted the tension crossing her Dad's expression at the question.

"Um well...Billy and Jacob have done a lot of work on the engine. It's only a few years old really and-."

"When did he buy it?" Bella interrupted.

Dad sighed. "He bought it in 1984 I think."

"New?" Bella pressed. Dani snorted with laughter. "Not likely. The thing is ancient."

"It's not ancient." Dad retorted, giving his other daughter a pointed look through the mirror. "I'd say the model was new around the early sixties or late fifties at least." He said with a sheepishness to his tone.

"Ancient." Dani repeated with a grin.

Bella's face fell. "Ch-...Dad, I don't really know anything about cars or...I wouldn't be able to fix it if something happened and who knows how much a mechanic will cost." She shook her head.

Dani reached over and grabbed her arm. "Don't worry about that. Remember I mentioned Jake in La Push? He's really good with cars and I'm sure he'd be happy to help with repairs if you need it. Especially since you're my sister." She smiled.

Bella smiled back, but her eyebrows raised in a suggestive manner. "What, are you two like...like a thing now or...?" She asked, inclining her head towards her Twin slightly.

Dani's smile fell at that. "What? No! Don't be ridiculous Bella. We've just been friends for forever and he's really good with automechanics. I know for a fact his rates will be much cheaper than any regular shop in town." She answered, folding her arms across her chest.

Bella raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay sure." She nodded her head, a conspirational smile on her face. Dani decided to ignore her.

"So...how cheap is the truck Dad?" Bella asked, refocusing her attention. "I only have so much saved for a car." Dad smiled a bit at her through the rearview mirror as he took an exit off the highway.

"Well you don't have to worry about that Bells, because I already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Dad responded.

Bella looked surprised as if she never expected something like this. "Oh...Wow I...you didn't need to do that, Ch...Dad. I was going to buy myself a car when I got here." She muttered.

Dani glanced at her when she heard her sister almost call their Dad by his first name again. It was something neither of them were allowed to do since Dad didn't like it, though Bella seemed to have a hard time remembering that rule.

"I don't mind." Dad shrugged as if he hadn't heard anything amiss. "I want you to be happy here. And so does Dani." He glanced back at Dani.

Bella's smile widened and she turned to meet her sister's gaze. "That's really nice of you guys. Thanks. I really appreciate it." She responded.

Dad cleared his throat as if embarrassed by Bella's show of gratitude. "Well now, you're welcome." He mumbled, clearing his throat again.

Dani released her grip on Bella's arm. "The truck," She said in a low voice gaining her sister's attention. "is really Dad's welcoming gift. I have one I prepared all on my own for you in our bedroom. Something to remind you of Phoenix." She said with a smile.

Bella hesitated for a minute then smiled back. "Thanks Dani." She looked back out the window. Dani sank back into her seat.

...

"Here we are. Home sweet home!" Dad said with not as much enthusiasm as he might as he pushed open the front door of the house.

Bella and Dani walked in after him and immediately made a beeline for the stairs that led up to the bedrooms and the only bathroom in the house.

Bella was smiling a bit since she had just seen the truck and had liked it even more than Dani had expected her to upon seeing the large rusted red vehicle.

Of course Dani knew that Bella was happiest because having the truck meant she didn't have to walk or rely on Dad's patrol car tomorrow when the Swan Sisters went to school together for the first time.

Then again anyone would be happy about not showing up to their first day of school in a parade of blinking blue and white lights.

"Wow.." Bella gaped as she stepped into the bedroom she and Dani had shared during her childhood visits to Forks, which they were now going to be sharing permanently.

"I like the dresser." She said finally, letting her eyes glaze over the light blue and silver painted wood. Dani shrugged a shoulder.

"Yeah well, my present is over on the desk by the bunk." She made a vague gesture with her arm before looking down at her sister's duffel bag.

"Do you want me to help you unpack or something? I know you've got to be a little tired after being on the plane for so long." Dani offered. Bella shook her head and let her bag slide down to the floor.

"Nah, that's okay. I don't have a lot to put away." She started to walk towards the bunkbed and tripped when her foot caught on her duffel bag strap.

Dani unsuccessfully tried to stifle her giggles and Bella blushed furiously. "I meant to do that." She said awkwardly. Dani shrugged a shoulder. "Whatever you say." She followed her sister further into the room just as Bella discovered the little potted cactus on the desk that they would also be sharing.

"Aww..thanks Dani." Bella turned back around to smile gratefully at her twin with the plant in her hands.

Dani shrugged. "It was nothing. I'll uh, leave you to unpack then and go get started on dinner." She pointed at the door and left the room, meeting her Dad in the living room near the kitchen.

"Back downstairs already? I thought the two of you would be...you know, having a little unpacking party together." Dad said a bit awkwardly as he followed Danielle into the kitchen where she immediately opened the refrigerator.

"She said she doesn't need any help with unpacking. Besides," She pulled her head out of the fridge and grinned at her Dad. "Someone needs to get dinner started before you starve." Dani giggled and carried a head of iceberg lettuce and a half-eaten bag of Kale to the counter.

Dad rolled his eyes at this. "I was going to just order us a pizza for tonight since it's Bella's homecoming today." Dani shook her head. "Dad, you can't keep eating like that. It's not good for you. You're not a teenager anymore you know." She chided lightly, chopping up the vegetables slightly before tossing them into a strainer.

Dad sighed. "Yeah yeah I know Dani. You've been telling me since you were thirteen." He moved to stand next to his daughter and inspected the food. Dani laughed.

"So what are we having tonight then?" Dad asked. Danielle shrugged. "Just a salad with the catfish you caught the other day with Mr. Black. I'm thinking I'll pan fry them to save time." She answered.

Dad made a sort of satisfied grunting sound. "Sounds great." He turned to leave the kitchen just as the sound of someone walking down the stairs sounded above them.

"What are you making?" Bella asked from the entrance of the kitchen, making Dani look up from the freezer where she was pulling out the catfish and setting them on a microwave safe dish.

"Pan-fried catfish with a salad." Dani shrugged, getting up and moving across the kitchen to get to the old microwave oven next to the stove.

Bella followed her. "Can I...help with anything?" She asked, looking about awkwardly even though she usually knew exactly what to do in the kitchen.

Dani nodded. "Sure. Can you rinse out the veggies for the salad? There should also be some carrots and tomatoes in the fridge too. Second drawer I think?" She responded turning from the catfish as she hastily arranged the pieces on the plate before sliding it into the microwave to defrost.

Bella nodded back and moved to look in the small refrigerator their Dad had owned since he first bought the house after getting married.

For awhile the sisters worked in a comfortable companionable silence.

Both simultaneously looking forward to and slightly anxious of what the school day tomorrow would bring for both of them.

...


	3. Chapter 3

(Chapter 3. Enjoy! I own nothing but my OCs.)

...

"Well, here we are. Good old Forks High School. That's the main administrative office right there. You could park right in front of it if you want." Dani gestured towards the old gray brick building that was one of two high schools located in Forks.

The morning was cold and drizzly as expected, but Bella's new old truck had a pretty good heating system which the sisters took full advantage of during the drive to school.

Bella sighed as she took her sister's advice and pulled into an empty parking spot in front of a smaller building on campus where a sign that read **Administrative Office** was visible from the curb.

Dani noticed her apprehension and playfully elbowed her in the arm as Bella killed the ignition on the car.

"Come on, look alive Bells. You're about to face a horrifying 357 member student body here. 98% of whom have never met a new kid in their lives." She tried to joke to ease Bella's nerves, but Bella did not smile.

"357 is nothing. There were over 700 just in my junior class alone back in Phoenix." Bella retorted, though she still looked pale. Paler than usual and dreading getting out of the cab of the truck.

"Terrifying." Dani chuckled as she undid her seatbelt. She started to open the door when she noticed how anxious Bella looked and sat back in her seat.

"Are you okay?" She asked. When Bella didn't answer, Dani tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, earth to Bella. Class starts in ten minutes. We need to move if we're going to get your schedule and everything before the bell rings." She tried.

Bella jumped a bit, then sighed and shook her head. "I can't do this Dani. 357 kids staring at me the whole day? Everyone wanting to know my name and where I'm from. And of course when I tell them that, they'll want to know why I'm so pale."

"Well duh, that's kinda of what happens when you're the new kid in school. People ask you questions." Dani shrugged, laughing as if it were nothing to worry about. Bella shot her a look.

"Dani I'm serious. I've never been good with the whole...making friends, identifying with my peers thing. If I couldn't do it well in a place I practically grew up in, why should I do any better here?" She asked, digging her fingernails into the steering wheel as she talked.

Dani shook her head. "Just take it one step at a time. Who knows? Maybe we'll have a couple classes together and...if you want I can introduce you to my friend Angela at lunch. She's really nice I promise." She said sincerely.

Bella sighed again, but nodded before grabbing her bag before turning to get out of the car. "Okay..." Dani quickly followed, grabbing her violin case from the floor of the car with one hand and almost slipping on the rain slicked ground as she hurried to catch up with her sister who was quickly moving towards the Administrative office.

As the two sisters rushed indoors, a woman with bright red hair a deep purple t-shirt looked up from her computer and looked first at Dani before her gaze rested on Bella.

"Can I...help you?" She asked in a drawl that told Danielle she was a little confused even though Dani's slightly shorter hair should have been a dead giveaway who was who.

"I'm..." Bella started and fiddled with the straps of her backpack. "...Isabella Swan." She mumbled and looked at the floor.

"Oh! Of course. The new student."

Almost immediately the woman jumped up from her desk and went to search through a tall stack of documents across the room before walking up to where the girls stood holding a small stack of papers.

Dani did not miss the way her sister flinched at being called out so soon and by the school secretary no less.

"Here it is. Your class schedule and a map of the school though with Danielle here as your guide, you might not need the map." The woman grinned a bit impishly, but only Dani smiled back.

"Maybe." Bella responded softly, feeling her cheeks flame a bit with self-consciousness. Dani peered over her shoulder to look at the schedule.

"And here is your attendance slip. Make sure to have all your teachers sign it today before you leave school okay?" The woman continued and Bella nodded her head, accepting the slip and quickly shuffling it together with the rest of the papers.

"Thanks." She managed a smile at last and started to leave the office. Dani turned to follow her when the woman called after them. "Good luck today Isabella. I hope you like it here."

Dani reached to take her sister's class schedule from her as they got outside where the rest of the student body was just beginning to show up.

"Awesome! It looks like we haaave...gym class together." She grinned and handed the paper back to Bella.

"Great." Bella muttered sarcastically and took back her schedule.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Come on Bella, enough with the pessimism already. It's going to be great. You have your favorite class first thing this morning." She retorted, smiling encouragingly as she readjusted her backpack.

Bella managed a weak smile. "I guess so."

"My class is this way." Dani pointed towards a building past what appeared to be the school auditorium. "And English is that way in Building 3. Think you can find it? I got to stow my violin in my locker before class." She asked, already taking a few steps away since she knew Bella did not like to be hovered over.

Bella shrugged and started to turn in the direction Dani had pointed. "I think so. Thanks Dani. See you at lunch, I guess." She waved awkwardly then hurried to find her first class.

Dani watched her go for a moment before continuing on to her own class. _Good luck Bella._

...

"Dani! Hey! I just had Trig with your sister and I thought she was you at first! It was crazy!" Danielle's best friend Angela enthused as she hurried to join her at one of the many tables set up in the cafetaria.

Danielle giggled as Angela sat down, setting her lunch try down before hand. "But her hair's longer than mine and our faces aren't identical. Bella got more of Dad's looks while I got our Mom's." She retorted, taking a sip of her lemonade.

Angela shrugged and picked up her slice of cafetaria pepperoni pizza. "Well you two look a lot alike to me." She turned and glanced back at the cafetaria line where Bella was still standing next to a talkative girl with light brown hair before taking a bite of her pizza.

"Anyway, Bella seems really nice. She blushed really hard when I accidentally called her by your name, but she seems really cool. Maybe we can all hangout together sometime." Angela suggested as Bella, spotting Danielle hurried over to their table with her new friend at her heels.

"Maybe. Hey Bella. Made a new friend?" Dani asked, recognizing the girl who sat across from her while Bella took the seat next to her.

"Uh...yeah I guess so." Bella shrugged, reaching to unscrew the lid on her drink. "We had Spanish together." Dani nodded her head and took another bite of her pizza.

"Cool. How were your other classes?" She asked, after swallowing and dabbing her mouth with a napkin. Bella shrugged. "Okay.' She managed to open her drink spilling only a little on the table when the doors opened behind them admitting in a draft of chilly air and two people.

One was a tall ivory skinned blonde haired girl and she was on the arm of a muscley dark haired boy whose white sweatshirt almost completely blended in with his white skin.

Dani immediately turned away when she saw them, but Bella's gaze lingered on them.

"Ugh! Could it be any colder?" Jess, the girl who had followed Bella to their table complained as she attempted to wrap her thin hoodie tighter around herself as the breeze ruffled the backs of their heads.

Dani shrugged. "At least it didn't blow any rain in." She put in, laying her pizza crust aside on her tray while Bella continued to stare at couple that had just entered.

"Dani, who are they?" Bella quickly nudged Dani in the arm as the blonde girl and her date passed them by.

Dani glanced briefly back at them. "The Cullens." She shrugged as if they were no one special despite their unique complexion and stunning physical attractiveness.

"The Cullens?" Bella repeated, giving her sister a slightly confused, slightly curious look.

"Yeah they're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They moved down here from Alaska like a few years ago." Jess added in eagerly.

"They also keep mainly to themselves so don't bother thinking about approaching them." Dani continued as the doors opened again this time admitting in another pair of snow white skinned teens.

This time the girl had short dark hair while her boyfriend sported gorgeous golden blonde curls.

"Yeah see they're all together. Like together together." Angela explained as the second couple quickly went to join their friends at the table in the back corner of the cafetaria.

Bella frowned. "What do you mean?"

Dani nodded her head in their direction. "You see that blonde girl leaning on the big guy's shoulder? That's Rosalie Hale and she's with Emmett Cullen the big guy. Her and the blonde guy behind her Jasper are supposedly twins and Jasper is with Alice, the shorter dark haired girl." She explained without once turning around in her seat.

"Yeah, I'm not even sure that's legal." Jess shook her head, rolling her eyes as she fiddled with the crust of her pizza.

Angela smirked. "Jess, they're not actually related to each other." She giggled a bit.

"Yeah but they live together. It's weird!" Jess protested.

"Very weird." Dani chimed in. "Still, I guess Alice is nice enough. I have French class with her." She said to Bella with a half smile and a shrug, taking a drink from her lemonade just as the door opened for a third time, this time admitting in a boy who appeared to be around Dani and Bella's age.

His skin was just as pale as the other four's had been, but his hair was more of a bronze like color and it was styled up within an inch of his hairline.

"Who's he?" Bella asked, not responding to Dani and leaning around to see if another pale girl was following behind him. This guy however, unlike the other four was alone.

Jess peeked over her shoulder at the same time that Dani did and grinned wryly. "That's Edward Cullen. Totally gorgeous of course, but apparently no one here is good enough for him." Jess sighed as Edward passed, causing a small smirk to appear at the corner of his lip as he went to sit down with his siblings.

Danielle smirked too. It was no secret that Jess Stanley used to have a crush on Edward Cullen back in 9th grade. Although she was long over him (at least she always claimed she was) Jess was the type be annoyed with a guy just for not being attracted to her.

"I thought you were over him Jessica." Angela put in with a raise of her eyebrow. Jess responded by rolling her eyes. "I _am_." She insisted. Dani shook her head.

"Anyway, he's not worth your time Bella. Don't worry about it and don't worry if Edward looks at you like you have a disease or something. He does that to everyone." She advised, sticking her fork into her salad.

Bella slowly nodded her head, still not turning back around as Edward sat down in the last vacant seat at his siblings' table. Dani sighed and started to tap her sister on the arm to get her attention.

"Bella..." She started and stopped when Edward suddenly whipped his head around in their direction, almost making direct eye contact with the Swan Sisters.

Dani heard Bella inhale a little sharply as Edward's gaze slid rather quickly from Danielle to her. Seeing the half intrigued half slightly afraid look in her twin's expression, Dani firmly nudged her in the shoulder.

"Bella, turn around. Ignore him." She muttered in an low voice that Bella could hear, but anyone else more than a foot away would not.

To Dani's surprise, Bella did not move an inch from her position and her gaze did not budge from Edward's piercing one.

Dani felt her own eyes narrow as Edward too didn't seem to have any desire or intention for breaking the slightly intense staring match he was sharing with her sister.

Finally Dani gave Bella a little shake. "Bella!"

"Huh?" Bella jumped a bit, startled and swung back around in her seat, wincing when she bumped her shin on something under the table in her haste.

"Sorry I was just..." Bella started to explain herself then trailed off, unable to think of a valid reason for her staring at the boy across the cafetaria.

Jess and Angela both tried to stifle their giggles at Bella's flusteredness and Dani's sight annoyance. "Can you blame her Dani? Edward may be weird, but you can't deny how easy he is on the eyes." Angela spoke in an almost dream like tone.

Dani sighed as she reached for her drink again. "Did you not see the way he was looking at Bella just now, Ang? I seriously got goosebumps and not in a good way." She shivered slightly as she bent over what was left of her lunch.

Angela started to nod in an acknowledging way until Jess spoke up. "Well it's not like anything could happen. I mean, Edward looks at a lot of people like he can't stand them." She spoke the words as if they mattered little.

Dani bit down on her lip and turned her head the barest amount to peek back at the Cullens. Edward had now looked away back at his lunch which as usual was largely untouched.

Quickly she faced forward again and picked up her half eaten pizza as if nothing were wrong though she couldn't get the intensity of Edward's stare out of her mind.

True, he usually didn't have the most pleasant looks on his face most days, but something about the way he'd looked at Bella a moment ago seemed on a much higher level than the usual disinterested and slightly irritated scowls Edward normally sported.

Feeling her stomach turn suddenly, Dani quickly put down her pizza. "So...where is your next class Bella?" Jess asked, casually to break to the tension at the table.

Blushing again, Bella fumbled through her backpack until she found the schedule the secretary had given her that morning.

"Uhh...Biology II with Mr. Banner." She mumbled studying the schedule for a moment longer before folding it and putting it away again.

"Hey! That's where I'm headed!" Angela lit up then. "I could walk with you. Show you where it is." She offered, making both Bella and Dani smile slightly.

"Sounds great." Bella shrugged just as the bell rang. Dani got up from the table first, wasting no time in gathering up her tray with her half eaten pizza slice still on it.

"Well I'll see you in gym then Bells. I have orchestra next and my locker is practically all the way across campus from the music hall." She said with a half grin, nodding at Angela as she and Jess followed her cue and picked up their own lunch trays.

"Angela, I leave her in your capable hands." She joked though she was only half joking since she knew Edward Cullen was in Biology II this hour as well.

Bella blushed as Angela laughed and got up to clean up the remains of her own lunch. "Ha ha. Later Dan." She retorted back, tripping over the leg of her chair as she tried to hurry out of the cafetaria.

Dani narrowed her eyes at the use of her most unfavorite nickname, which her Dad used to call her when she was little until she asked him to stop.

"Don't call me Dan."

...

"All right! That's the bell! Good work everyone! Don't forget we have a dress rehearsal next week." Mrs. Windsor, the high school orchestra director tried to speak over the noise of instrument cases being snapped shut and backpacks being dragged off the floor.

Dani quickly fell into line with her other classmates feeling significantly better than she had during lunch following the incident with Edward Cullen staring down her sister.

There was something unexplainably soothing about playing her violin especially since her violin was an heirloom from her Grandma Abigail.

However, Dani's improved mood sank when she reached the gym and saw Bella walking in from the oppposite direction talking to a boy Dani recognized as Mike Newton.

Judging just from appearances, Mike seemed to keeping up a pleasant enough conversation with Bella until they separated at the entrance of the locker rooms.

However the look on the Bella's face made Dani's stomach tighten again. _I swear if Cullen had anything to do with this..._ She picked up her pace to catch up with her in the girls locker room.

"Bella! Hey!...How was Biology?" Dani asked, as they quickly changed into their P.E. uniforms.

Bella looked away from her at the question and blinked as if she were trying to hold back tears. "Fine." She choked out in a voice that told Dani she was angry about something.

Bella had a tendancy to start crying when she was mad about something and it was a tendancy Bella did not particularly care for.

"You don't look fine. Did Edward look at you weird again?" Dani asked, stooping to retie her shoelaces as she kept an eye on her twin.

Bella pressed her lips together. "Something like that...actually I think he's mad at me." She admitted after a moment.

Dani raised an eyebrow in surprise at this. "Why would he be at mad at you?" She asked, genuinely confused and curious as she sat up straighter on the bench she was sitting on.

Bella shrugged. "I don't know...Mr. Banner made me go sit by him in class and he like...recoiled from me like I smelled bad or something." She began to explain in a low voice though they were the last two left in the locker room now.

Dani knew they had at least two minutes before Coach Clapp came looking for them and ordered them back outside on the gym so she leaned over, took a quick sniff and said quickly. "I don't smell anything off."

Bella let out a sigh. "That's what I was thinking. But the whole time we were in class he kept sitting as far as he could from me. I swear I even saw his hand twitching a few times as if he wanted to cover his nose with it." She blinked again and hastily pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Dani felt her eyes narrow in bewilderment. "What the crap?"

"That's not even the worst part. Right when the bell rang, Edward bolted out of the door so fast, he nearly knocked over his stool. Everyone was staring and I was so mortified I could have died right then." Bella finally finished, sniffing a few times without crying.

Danielle felt her hands ball into fists. "I'm so sorry. I knew Edward could be a little weird and sometimes his expression can be a bit intense, but I never thought he'd be outright rude to someone like this. The most I've ever seen him do since he and his family got here was ignore someone completely." She started to put her hand on Bella's shoulder when the door to the girls' locker room swung open startling them both.

"Dani? Bella? Coach Clapp says you guys need to come out now. We're about to start class." Jessica, the girl who had sat with them at lunch said as she popped her head into the locker room.

Dani nodded her head at her. "All right. We'll be right out." She said flashing a quick smile. Jess smiled back and quickly retreated from the locker room giving the Swan Sisters some privacy again.

Bella took a deep breath and forced herself to get up from the bench. Dani followed her. "You going to be okay?" She asked, still worried for her sister.

Bella lightly nodded her head. "Yeah I'll be fine. Just so long as we're not playing baseball or basketball." She muttered the last part under her breath.

Dani couldn't help choking out a laugh at that. "Actually we're playing volleyball today." She grinned a bit, knowing Bella hated playing sports due to her natural clumsiness.

Bella shoulders slumped at her sister's words, but Dani was relieved to see her smile a bit. "Even worse."

...

"You know...you're actually kind of a natural at volleyball. Maybe you should talk to Jess about joining the school team." Dani teased, hoping to get Bella to feel better as they left gym class together at the end of the day.

Bella sighed and rolled her eyes. "Shut up Dani."

"No really." Dani's grin widened. "When you spiked the ball during the third match I was shocked...and I think you were too judging by how freaked you looked after the ball ended up hitting poor Mike Newton upside his head." Dani laughed as they reached the door of the Administrative Office.

Flushing with embarrassment, Bella tugged at the sides of her hood as if trying to hide how red her cheeks were as they got closer to the door.

"I told them not to pass me the ball. I told them someone would get hurt if they did and what did they do?" Bella moaned as she bumped past a couple who was holding hands and obviously more interested in looking at each other than at where they were going.

Dani playfully nudged her sister with her elbow. "Come on Bella. I was just joking. Besides no one really got hurt and if you ask me I think Mike Newton really has his eyes on you." She teased, making Bella blush more.

"Very funny. What about when you ran into that Tony Rice guy a little after that? I've never seen you blush so hard." She said with a wry grin as they reached the same place where their first school day together had begun that morning.

Suddenly all the good humor, all the well meaning joking and teasing disappeared from Dani's face. "That's different." She muttered through clenched teeth as they got to the door of the office. "Tony Rice is a pervert." She said lowly.

So lowly Bella almost didn't hear her.

"Oh..." Bella's eyes widened at her words. "I...I didn't-." She started to apologize when Dani suddenly perched the bottom of her violin case on the edge of the bench next to the Administrative Office.

"It's fine. Do you want me to go in with you again or should I wait out here?" She asked, balancing her violin between her hands.

Bella sighed and shrugged one shoulder before reaching one hand towards the door handle. "I'll be quick." She promised before yanking open the door to the office and running inside.

Feeling the warm air hit her face briefly, Dani turned to sit down on the very edge of the bench, laying her precious instrument across her lap as she waited for her sister to come back out so that they could go home.

"Hey Dani! What are you doing?" Angela asked as she paused on her way to her car which was parked not far from Bella's truck.

Dani shrugged and grinned at her friend. "Waiting for Bella to hand in her attendance sheet so we can go home." She shivered slightly as a brisk breeze blew through her.

Angela hugged herself as the cold moved through her as well. "Ah, well I was going to go study for our U.S. History test today at the coffee shop. You and Bella want to come too?" She asked, adjusting her grip around the books in her arms.

Dani grinned and glanced back towards the office. "I'll ask her. Although knowing my sister, she'll probably want to stay home and decompress for the rest of the day." She chuckled and Angela laughed with her

"Yeah I can understand that. Well text me and let me know." Angela started to turn to head off to the parking lot when the door to the Administrative Office swung open with unnecessary force.

Jumping at the loud bang that ensued when the door hit the brick wall, Dani whirled around just in time to see a very angry Edward Cullen storm from the office so fast he nearly knocked her violin out of her hands.

"Hey!" Dani cried out involuntarily as she clutched frantically at her instrument. Edward whipped his head around at her making Dani freeze at the venomous look in his eyes.

She felt her breath catch in her throat as he twitched his nose upwards then turned away from her as if he could not bear the sight of her.

"Unbelievable..." Edward muttered before continuing on his way to the car where his siblings waited, their expressions completely impassive as if they did not see anything off about their brother's stormy demeanor.

Stunned, Dani started to get up from the bench when the door opened again, still forcefully yet not nearly as forcefully as before. This time Bella exited and there were very visible tears on her cheeks.

"Bella!" Dani exclaimed, forgetting her own shock at seeing how upset her sister was. "What happened?"

Instead of answering Bella shook her head and wiped her eyes once with the sleeve of her jacket before running over in the direction of the truck.

Dani hurried after her. "Bella wait up!" She called, but Bella did not slow down or stop until she was in the cab of the car. Even then, she did not start the ignition or throw her backpack into the back.

Getting in next to her, Dani carefully put her backpack and violin case on the floor by her feet before looking back at her twin.

"Bella?" She spoke cautiously, watching as her sister's shoulders heaved rhythmically in the way that most people's did when they were trying and failing miserably not to cry.

Remembering the completely venomous way Edward had looked at her and how angrily he had stalked from the office to his car, Dani bit down on her lip and gently put her hand on Bella's elbow.

"Bella, what happened?" She asked softly, hoping her sister would confide in her. "Was it... Edward?" Gasping through her tears, Bella nodded her head without looking up to make eye contact with her twin.

Dani sighed, realizing that Bella wasn't in any condition or mood to talk at the moment. Glancing at the steering wheel which was quickly becoming drenched in Bella's tears, she gave her sister's arm a squeeze.

"Do you want me to drive us home?" She offered in a whisper as she watched Angela's car pull out of the parking lot through the sideview mirrors.

Bella shook her head and abruptly lifted her head from the steering wheel with a loud sniff. "I can drive." She croaked in not so convincing voice.

Dani raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I don't mind driving. I've driven Dad's car a couple times." She responded. With another sniff, Bella started the ignition of the truck, making Dani jump as she had forgotten just how loud the engine was.

Sighing, Dani decided to drop it and settled back against her seat as her sister slowly yet carefully backed out of the parking lot and away from the school.

...


	4. Chapter 4

(New Chapter! I hope you like it! I'm still not 100% set on who I want to match Dani with later on in the story, but I know for sure I want it to be one of the werewolves since it might make an interesting contrast between her and Bella. Sorry I take so long with updating. I own nothing but my OC.)

...

 _ **Hi, this is Leah Clearwater. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you. *beep***_

 _Ugh! Come on Leah! Answer your phone!_ Dani groaned, tossing her cellphone aside on the couch where she was doing her homework on the coffee table in order to give Bella some privacy after she had finally confided to her about what Edward had done to upset her earlier.

If Danielle was being honest, it was bothering her almost as much as it did Bella since Edward Cullen while odd had never been openly hostile to her or anyone else before.

What could her twin sister, mild-mannered and socially awkward Bella Swan possibly have done during a one hour long Biology class that ticked a guy off so badly he would try to switch to a different class in order to avoid her?

 _It makes no sense..._ Dani thought silently to herself, almost starting to feel angry about the whole thing as she reached for her phone again.

Just as she was about to redial her friend's number, the screen lit up with Leah Clearwater's name and she scrambled to hit the answer button.

"Leah! Hey! Sorry to bother you. Are you busy right now?" Dani asked, quickly putting her phone to her ear.

"Nah I just got home and Seth is at soccer practice. What's up? You sound really riled up. Are you all right?" Leah asked, a bit of concern showing in her voice.

Dani sighed. "Yeah I'm fine..." She glanced over her shoulder towards the stairs that led up to the bedrooms before continuing. "I need some advice. You remember Edward Cullen?" She asked, frowning as she bent over her history notes.

"Yeeah, he's the pale kid who moved into Forks a couple years ago. What about him? Wait...did he ask you out?" Leah asked, her tone switching from concern to amusement almost instantly.

Dani felt her cheeks burn. "What? No! God! Why would he...? Never mind, it's about my sister Bella. According to what she told me, she didn't do anything other than sit next to him in Biology and he flat out recoiled from her like she smelled like a bag of skunks." Dani confided, knowing she could trust Leah despite how sarcastic she could be sometimes.

"What a grade A weirdo." Leah muttered. Dani bit her lip. "I know, but that's not the worst part. At the end of school, Bella had to turn in her attendance sheet at the main office since, you know, she's a new student and apparently Edward Cullen was in there vehemently trying to switch out of Biology II."

"Wow really?" Leah's tone turned into confusion. Dani nodded her head. "Yes. I wasn't in there with her, but I was outside when he stormed out and almost knocked over my violin. I'm telling you Leah, I've never seen anyone so mad before and since Bella really isn't the best at lying I know she didn't do anything to cause this."

Leah sighed and Dani heard a noise that sounded like bed springs creaking as if she'd just flopped over on her bed. "Well that's just great."

"What do I do? I mean...I can't exactly just confront the guy. He's a good head taller than I am and besides Dad really respects Dr. Cullen. He probably won't take it well if I antagonize Edward just for being angry for no reason." Dani sighed and laid down her pencil.

Leah sighed too. "I think the only thing you _can_ do is keep an eye on her and him as much as you can and make sure this doesn't escalate to something worse. Do you have any classes with both of them?"

Dani shook her head. "No. I just have gym class with Bella." She frowned and glared at her homework as if it were part of the problem.

"Well just do the best you can then and be ready to do some damage control. If your sister's even half as sensitive as you are, she's going to need all the support she can get." Leah advised, making Dani half smile.

"I think Bella's ten times worse than I am, but thanks. I'll try my best. I'm kind of new to this whole protective big sister thing you know? Even if I am only older by a few minutes." She retorted, bending over her homework again as she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"I'm sure you'll do great Dani. You are learning from the best after all." Leah said smugly, making Dani roll her eyes while laughing.

"Of course. So how are _you_ doing? You know with the whole..." She started and trailed off, not wanting to mention Leah's ex by name, but unsure of how else to phrase her question.

There was a long pause, then Dani heard a sigh.

"Fine...I mean I guess it helps that he's graduated and doesn't come around anymore, but Emily's a different story. I mean I know this isn't her fault really and she wants to make things better, but...sometimes just seeing her makes me want to scream and cry all over again you know?" Leah confided, making Dani's heart ache for her friend.

"Yeah I get it, but I'm glad you're doing better. I was really worried for awhile that you might never get over it since...I knew how much Sam meant to you. I think Seth was worried too." She bit her lip, thinking back to those first few months following Leah's break up with her boyfriend of nearly two years.

In fact it had been only a few weeks now, since Leah stopped shutting everyone out and started answering Dani's phone calls again.

"Yeah. Thanks, but enough about my sad life. You keep me posted about your sister and that Cullen guy okay? If there's one thing I learned after Sam dumped me, it's that us girls really need to stick together." Leah chuckled.

Dani nodded her head. "For sure. I'll see you on Saturday at Billy's Birthday Party. You'll get to meet my twin sister then." She smiled."Jake's been wanting me to bring her down to the Rez sometime and I figure the party is as good an excuse as any to introduce her to everyone."

She chuckled and lay back against the back of couch as she heard the sound of the refrigerator being opened.

"Riiight...cause Jake is asking." Leah said in a teasing tone, making Dani roll her eyes again. "Leah, knock it off."

"What? I'm not the only one who sees how you two are. You and Jake are the only ones who don't see it." Leah retorted. Dani groaned. "Bye Leah." She muttered, pressing the hang up button before tossing her phone back across the couch.

"Hey...do you mind if I make dinner tonight? I was thinking Charlie might like some beef fajitas." Bella offered from the kitchen doorway, attempting to sound cheerful.

Dani turned and shrugged. "Sure! I don't mind, although you really need to stop calling Dad by his name. You know he doesn't like that." She couldn't help adding.

Bella clenched her jaw slightly then turned to go back into the kitchen. "Right. I'll work on that." She mumbled opening the refrigerator again and taking out some ingredients.

Dani started to scribble in another answer on her worksheet when the screen of her phone lit up with a new text message.

 _ **Leah Clearwater**_

 _You know I'm right. XP_

...

"Bella! Seriously stop staring! He's not here!" Dani hissed, jabbing Bella in the arm to get her attention as they sat together with Angela and Jessica again at lunch.

This time Mike Newton had briefly joined them as well much to Bella's discomfort since he seemed really interested in her and didn't seem to notice how much Jess seemed to resent the attention he was giving her.

Fortunately for Bella, Mike soon left to join another table with a few of his friends though he still occasionally glanced back over at the girls' table where Bella was sitting.

Reluctantly, Bella turned away from the Cullen table which apart from Edward's absence seemed perfectly normal. Or as normal as the Cullens could be.

Dani knew that she should have felt relieved when they arrived at school earlier that day and didn't see Edward with his sibilngs walking up from the Volvo they all always rode, but instead she felt irritated and it didn't help that Bella seemed to be looking for him everywhere.

"He's absent because of me. I just know it." Bella whispered, pretending to stir together the pasta on her plate. Dani shook her head.

"No he's not." She retorted, not completely buying into her own words. It was just way too convenient, Edward not showing up after that completely bizarre display of rage Dani had witnessed at the administrative office yesterday.

Bizarre and annoying.

"Yeah the Cullens always take random days off. Apparently Dr. Cullen likes to take them on family camping trips." Angela put in cheerfully and though Bella gave her a weak appreciative smile in return, Dani could tell she was not satisfied with this answer.

"And anyway, we should be talking about Prom right now. It's coming up." Jessica added. Angela grinned.

"Yeah except Danielle doesn't care beans about the school dances. She never does." She added in a bit cheekily. Dani shrugged her shoulders. "That's cause they're a waste of time, Ange." She responded with a light laugh.

"Seriously." Bella murmured in agreement. "Especially when you can't dance."

"Or if there's no one worth dancing with." Danielle added. The sisters exchanged grins.

"Says you two." Jess put in. "I already know who I'm asking." She grinned, looking over at Mike who in turn had his eyes obliviously on Bella.

Dani stifled her giggles at the barely concealed annoyance that crossed Jessica's face then. "Me too." Angela added. "You should go too, Dani. Prom is like a rite of passage. Just ask one of those Rez boys to be your date." She tried to suggest.

Dani sighed. "Angela I already told you, they're my friends it would be...weird. You know that." She shook her head. "Besides I already have plans for that day." She said, averting her gaze back to her lunch as Jessica and Angela laughed at how quickly she said that.

"Right sure. Plans. What about you Bella? I mean, I know this is only your second day of school, but is there anyone you have in mind to ask to the dance?" Jess asked.

Bella blushed deeply and ducked her head like Dani did. "Uh no...I don't really...dance." She glanced at Dani then poked her fork at at the pasta on her plate.

"Well you guys can still come shopping with us in Port Angelos and help us pick out dresses." Angela put in hopefully. "I saw one at Bebe I'm dying to try on." She said dreamily.

Bella and Dani exchanged glances then both managed a smile. "Sure. Text me with the dets." Dani agreed, usually up for shopping with Angela even when she never ended up buying anything. She turned in Bella's direction to see her scowling at her a bit.

Dani giggled and added impishly. "I know Bella is just dying for her first shopping trip in Port Angelos." She joked, making Angela and Jessica laugh just as the bell rang.

"There's the bell." Bella snapped softly, grabbing up her tray from the table so quickly, she spilled some of her milk on her sweater.

Dani rolled her eyes and got up to follow her. "Bella come on. You're not that mad are you?" She asked once she had caught up to her Twin.

"I only said you'd go too because I thought it might help you forget about...him." She said with some hesitation before the last word.

Bella dumped her tray in the trash and shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie before heading out of the cafetaria ahead of the other students who were just behind them.

"But you know I hate shopping." She said with gritted teeth still glaring at her sister. "And I'm already dreading going to that party tomorrow." Dani shook her head.

"You don't hate book shopping and there's this real neat discount bookstore near the mall where we're going. I'm sure I could convince at least Angela to let us swing by after they pick out their dresses or whatever." She argued before softening her expression.

"Besides this and the beach barbecue party tomorrow could be good opportunities for you to try to make some friends. Jess is a little boy crazy, but she can be cool to hang out with. Angela is really awesome and I guarantee you're going to love most of the Rez kids. Especially Jake. He's really cool when he's not being a joker." Dani enthused.

Bella slowed her pace then and bit her lip as if she were considering. "Well...there is this book I've been wanting to get." She said at last.

Dani grinned. "Great! I'll see you in gym then!" She turned quickly on her heel to make a run for her locker.

Bella watched her go with a shake of her head. "Yeah see ya." She started to turn towards Biology with sigh.

...

"Bella! Dani! Come on Girls! We're going to be late!" Charlie called up the stairs, sighing as he checked his watch again for what seemed like the 50th time.

Danielle appeared at the top of the stairs first with her violin case in her hand and wearing a pink cardigan over a white shirt with denim capris. She had only the top part of her hair pulled back from her face in a small neatly tied ponytail.

Bella followed more slowly behind her with her hair pulled all the way up in a medium height ponytail, a lilac sweater over a gray shirt and long light blue jeans that ended just at the ankle line.

"Coming Dad! Sorry, Bella needed some more convincing about tonight." Dani apologized giving her sister a playful look which she returned with an mildly irritated one.

"Just tell me how many people are going to be at this party!" She protested, shoving her hands into the pockets of her sweater.

Charlie chuckled. "Well Harry Clearwater only invited four families including ours to the party, but since the La Push reservation is so tight knit, other people often invite themselves to these sorts of things too so it's hard to say exactly how many folks will be there tonight." He answered the question for Danielle.

Bella's face fell. "Great.."

"Oh stop it already! It's going to be fun. Trust me. It's a beach party! What could be more fun than that?" Danielle retorted, walking past her sister and her Dad to get outside.

Bella sighed and hunched her shoulders a little in nervousness.

"You'll be fine Bella. Now come on! Before the boys eat all the barbecue." Dad put his arm around Bella's shoulders and lightly pushed her towards the front door.

Bella managed a chuckle at this and obediently shuffled outside to get into the car. _At least it's not raining today._ She noted, glancing up at the still cloudy sky.

...

"Hey! Happy Birthday old timer! Save some of the grub for me?" Charlie said with a laugh as he greeted his oldest and best friend upon arriving on the second beach of La Push with Bella and Danielle walking up behind him.

Billy chuckled and sat forward in his wheelchair a bit as Charlie set a medium sized parcel on his lap.

"Well thank you. And of course there's enough food. Although you might have to fight Jacob for the pork ribs. I've already had to stop him twice from sneaking some off the grilll." Billy joked, picking up the gift and turning his head to glance towards where the fire pit and grill were flaming and sending the rich mouth watering aroma of cooking meat across the beach.

"Typical." Danielle giggled and her Dad laughed too.

"Yeah well that's fine with me. You remember my daughter Bella right? Danielle's twin?" He turned and motioned towards his younger daughter who was trailing several steps behind Danielle.

Billy set the package back down on his lap and peered around Charlie's shoulder. "Oh yeah. You used to bring her around with Dani for our fishing trips back in the day." He smiled warmly as Bella slowly approached him.

Danielle skipped forward. "Happy Birthday Billy. Like I promised, I have a special gift for you this year." She held up her violin case before setting it down on the sand by her feet so she could give her best friend's Dad a hug.

Billy returned her embrace. "Yes! Finally I get my very own concert. It's about time." He chuckled, glancing at Charlie who shrugged and glanced back at the barbecue again.

Dani straightened her posture and pushed her hair behind her shoulder. "Yeah well, I didn't want to play just anything for you. I hope you'll like it." She beamed and bounced up on her toes a little.

"Oh I'm sure I will." Billy responded before glancing towards Bella again. "Now who's your clone?" He joked. Dani laughed a bit stiffly this time and turned to wave her sister over.

"Bella, come here. This is Billy Black. He's my friend Jacob's Dad and the Birthday Man." She introduced, getting a shy half smile from Bella in return.

"It's nice to meet you." She said quietly, smiling warmly as she shakily offered her hand to Billy.

Billy smiled back at her and gave her hand a gentle shake. "It's nice to see you too Bella. Thanks for coming to the party. I'm sure your sister here can get you quickly acquainted with everyone in no time. She's good friends with most of the Rez kids as she's probably told you already."

Bella blushed again and nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess so." She glanced at Danielle for a moment before looking down at her feet.

"Well! I'm going to go see if they need any help with the barbecue. You girls have fun." Charlie turned to jog over to the fire pit and Dani shook her head after him.

"By help, he means sneak first bites of the food." She muttered under breath, bending to pick up her violin again. Bella chuckled a bit at this and Dani started to laugh with her when she suddenly felt herself being grabbed around the legs and hoisted swiftly into the air.

Dani let out a shriek as her fingers fell away from her instrument and she landed semi-roughly against someone's broad, lightly muscled shoulder with the top half of her body hanging halfway down their back.

"Jake!" She squealed upon realizing who had grabbed her. "Put me down!" She beat lightly on his back with her fists, but Jacob only laughed and jogged faster towards the water which was lapping fairly gently against the shoreline.

From her position over his shoulder, Dani could see Billy trying hard not to laugh at them while Bella looked a mixture between surprised and slightly amused at the situation.

Dani groaned. "Jake don't! The water's probably freezing!" She protested as her friend started to slow his pace upon reaching the water.

Dani flinched when some of it splashed in her face.

"What's the matter Dani? Don't you trust me?...Whoops!" Jake asked, still laughing as he pretended to almost lose his balance.

Dani screamed again and grabbed at the back of Jake's t-shirt. "Not funny!" She protested once she got her bearings again. "Jacob, put me down or I'll..I'll..." She fumbled for words and coughed as a strand of Jake's long black hair blew into her face.

"Or you'll what?" Jacob challenged still holding her tightly by the legs like a sack of potatoes.

Dani carefully pushed herself upwards a little a bit, narrowing her eyes as she heard the sounds of her other friends laughing at them across the beach. "Or I'll make sure you go down with me Jacob Ephraim Black!" She threatened, staring at the waves while pushing her hand down against Jacob's shoulder blade.

Jake looked across the ocean and sighed. "Fine! Geez!" He conceded and gently dropped Dani back on her feet. Danielle gasped when the water splashed at her ankles as she landed.

"I hate you." She muttered, fixing her clothes and her hair as a seagull scrawked overhead.

Jake chuckled softly at that and crossed his arms. "No you don't." He grinned, taking a couple steps closer to her.

Danielle back up one step. "Yes I do!" She insisted, though she was smiling too by now. Jake sighed.

"Come on Dani, I was just playing. You know, trying to keep you on your toes. I wasn't really going to dunk you in that icy water." He took another step forward and reached to brush a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, still smiling as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Not...all the way anyway." He added teasingly. Dani shot him a look.

"Ha ha. You know just for that, I'm not going to come up here for your soccer playoff game anymore." Dani turned to walk away from Jake, covering her mouth to hide her giggles as she headed back in the direction of the party.

"Dani! I was joking! How about if I make it up to you by picking you first for my team when we play tonight?" Jake protested, taking long strides across the beach and easily catching up to her.

Dani stopped walking and let her hand fall away from her mouth. "But..you always pick me first Jacob." She reminded him with a slight smirk. Jake chuckled. "Oh..right." He scratched his head.

Danielle grinned wider and turned on her heel so that she was facing Jake. "Tell you what. I'll forgive you for almost dropping me in the ocean if you let me have half of your fries at dinner." She crossed her arms.

Jake laughed.

"But you always eat more than half of my fries whenever you come to a barbecue." He retorted. Dani inclined her head to the side.

"Well this time you can't move your plate away or try to push me off my chair until I've had at least half of your fries." She responded coyly. Jake laughed some more.

"All right then." He sighed and held out his hand. "Shall we shake on it?"

Dani nodded and took his hand.

"Jacob! Dani! Come on! Food's ready!" Billy called from the barbecue area where everyone except the two of them were gathered now.

Jake grinned at the mention of food and turned to give Dani another sneaky smile. "First one to the barbecue pit gets double portion!" He yelled before taking off across the beach.

Dani laughed and tore across the sand after him.

...

"Well! It's about time you two got here. We're all out of food now." Embry joked, hastily trying to hide the tray of barbecue meat behind his back.

Jake rolled his eyes and reached behind him to grab a drumstick. "Nice try Dude. Give it here." He stuck the drumstick between his teeth and grabbed the meat tray from his friend.

Laughing, Embry ducked under Jake's arm and retreated back to his own seat, a pork rib clenched between his teeth.

Dani sighed and went to grab a plate for herself. "Well if the food really was gone I would have blamed you for it, Jake." She said in a half joking half serious tone of voice as Sue Clearwater served her some coleslaw.

Jake laughed and hurried to fix himself a plate, taking the drumstick out of his mouth.

"You know you love me." He retorted leaning over to serve himself some macaroni and cheese. Danielle shook her head as she reached for a chicken drumstick.

"Lord knows why." She sighed, smirking slightly at Jacob before turning to look for Bella.

"Oh ho! Buuurn!" Embry hooted from his spot near his Mom and one of his other friends Quil while Jake pretended to be busy grabbing french fries.

Laughing at their reactions, Dani hurried to where Bella was sitting next to Billy and their Dad and sat down on the edge of the blanket, just as Jacob caught up to her.

Dani turned as he plopped down on her right and snatched a french fry off of his plate. "You two arguing like an old married couple again?" Dad asked, making Dani blush.

Bella smirked and dropped her gaze back to the chips on her plate.

"No. Jake's just being a pain in the butt as usual." Dani shrugged, helping herself to another fry before reaching for her drumstick.

"Actually Dani can't take a joke." Jake retorted, picking up his rib and tearing off some of the meat with his teeth.

Charlie sighed and gave Bella a helpless look as Jake tossed another french fry into Dani's hand. "You get used to this after a while. Billy and I still have an ongoing bet about who's going to fall for the other first." He muttered earning an eye roll from his other daughter and a sigh from Jacob.

"Oh really?" Bella was amused. Too amused in Dani's mind. "Okay, you know what? I'm going to go sit with Leah." Danielle stood up, grabbing her plate with both hands.

Leah grinned when she spotted her walking over. "You look like you're having the time of your life." She said, scooting over so that her friend could sit next to her.

Danielle shrugged. "Oh yes. Definitely." She said sarcastically, sitting down and picking up her drumstick again.

Leah raised an eyebrow then turned her head towards where Bella, Jacob, Billy and Charlie were still sitting and enjoying their food.

"So is that your sister then?" Leah asked and Danielle nodded, turning briefly to look back in their direction.

"Yup. That's Bella. I'll introduce you after we eat." She offered, smiling as she set the chicken bone down on her plate before reaching for her fork.

"It looks like Jacob's getting a head start on that." Leah remarked, biting into her own drumstick.

Dani looked up just as the sound of Jake's laugh echoed across the area to her. He and Bella had scooted a little closer towards each other since Dani had left and they seemed to be engaged in a conversation.

Dani swallowed a forkful of mac and cheese before responding. "Good. It's about time she started relaxing and tried to make some friends." She gave a half smile.

Leah gave her a questioning look. "You're not worried that she might...you know, steal your thunder?" She asked, leaning back in her seat.

Dani shook her head. "There's no thunder to steal. Besides I'm glad that she finally seems to be having fun. You should see her at school Leah. She doesn't talk to Jess and Angela like this at lunch." She finished up her mac and cheese and started on her salad.

Leah shrugged. "Well it is Jacob. He could talk to a tree and it would want to be his friend." She smirked, getting up with her plate.

Dani giggled and got up to follow her, picking up her own plate. "Sooo...any update on the whole Cullen situation?" Leah asked as she and Dani grabbed some of Sue Clearwater's famous chocolate chip cookies near the end of the buffet table.

Dani sighed. "No. He was absent yesterday. I asked his sister Alice if he was sick or something, but she just said their Dad pulled him for a few days for an emergency." She shrugged and bit into a cookie .

Leah frowned. "What kind of emergency?"

"Don't know. She wouldn't say. Honestly I wouldn't care so much if it weren't for the fact that Bella was really upset because of him Thursday." Dani shrugged and turned away from the "buffet table".

Leah followed. "Well, remember to text me as soon as you find out what was up with that weirdo. If there's one thing I really can't stand these days, its a grade A jerk with a stick up their butt." Her words ended in a bit of snarl scaring Dani so much, she jumped back a bit almost dropping the rest of her cookie.

"Will do." She managed to respond, laughing nervously just as Harry Clearwater stood from his chair and called for attention.

"Attention! Attention everyone! I'd like to a propose a toast for my good friend Billy Black the Birthday Man." Leah's Dad raised his plastic glass with a wide grin on his aging face.

"I hope to celebrate more birthdays with you Billy...especially since this barbecue is so good!" Harry joked inciting the laughter of the other attendees at the party.

Leah and Danielle exchanged wry grins with each other. "But in all seriousness," Harry raised his glass even higher in the air. Leah quickly turned and grabbed two unused plastic cups.

"Here's to many more, my Friend." Harry continued as Leah finished pouring ginger ale into the cups and offered one to Dani.

Smiling gratefully at her friend, Dani took the cup and quickly joined in with the rest of the party guests, beaming over at Billy Black over the glow of the bonfire.

Leah did the same. "Happy Birthday!" Harry finished. The others echoed his cheer before simultaneously drinking from their own respective cups.

Dani downed half of the contents of her own cup before turning to set it own on the table behind her. Leah started to do the same when Jacob suddenly ran up, a balled up napkin in his hands.

"Hey Guys! Quil, Embry and Seth have agreed to play us again. I asked Bella if she wanted to join in, but she said no. She's really nice though. Your sister." Jake shrugged one shoulder, turning to shoot Danielle a grin which she returned with a helpless shrug of her own.

"Yes well, it doesn't surprise me that she doesn't want to play. You should see her in gym class." She smirked and exchanged glances with Leah before continuing.

"Tell Embry we're in, but only after I play my violin for your Dad." She turned to set her plate down.

Jake chuckled. "All right fine by me. Here." He pressed the napkin wad into her hands. Dani looked down at the napkin and raised an eyebrow.

"What's this?" Jake shrugged his shoulders again.

"Half of my fries. Enjoy!" He saluted her then jogged off to talk to Embry, Quil and Seth who were already passing a soccer ball around a few feet away from the barbecue area.

Dani smiled slightly after his quickly retreating figure before opening up the wadded up napkin to discover her prize.

"Oop! Heads up!" Embry shouted suddenly just before the soccer ball came flying through the air knocking the french fries from Dani's hand straight into the sand.

Dani gaped at the ground for a moment before looking up across the beach to where Embry stood shifting his weight from one foot to the other while Jake, Seth and Quil began to hoot and laugh loudly.

"Sorry!...Sorry Dani!" He shouted with a hand cupped around his mouth.

"Oh he's done it now." Leah smirked crossing her arms. Dani grinned too and toed the soccer ball with her right foot. Glancing across the picnic area she made eye contact with Bella who gave her an amused yet questioning look in return.

"Leah? Tell Billy I'll be right back." Danielle spoke without turning to glance at her friend. Without waiting for Leah to respond, Dani began to dribble the ball across the beach to where the boys stood.

...

"All right Girls! Let's go!...Dani! Stop that and help Bella get our things!" Charlie called over to his daughters, shaking his head ruefully at Danielle when he caught her shoving a handful of wet sand down the back of Jacob's shirt as a sort of revenge for him deliberately picking her up a few minutes ago to prevent her from scoring a goal on his team.

Nodding at him, Dani quicky dusted her hands off and waved goodbye to her friends before jogging back across the beach to where Bella stood awkwardly trying to fold up a beach chair.

Hearing her run up, Bella looked up and started to smile relieved to see Dani until she straightened her posture and wound up getting her finger slightly pinched in the hinge of the chair.

Dani startled when she saw her wince and hiss a bit in pain, but then she chuckled when Bella brought her sore finger to her lips. "Are you all right?" She asked, unable to keep her amusement out of her voice as Bella turned and gave her a narrowed eyed look in response, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm great. Who won the game?" She asked hastily trying to divert attention from herself by nodding back to where the boys were, still kicking around the soccer ball despite the fact that it was getting darker by the second.

Dani shook her head and bent to help Bella get the chairs. "No one. Although we totally would have won if Jake hadn't cheated." She rolled her eyes and paused to flick a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

Bella snorted softly at this. "Yeah, I saw the whole thing. You two really seem to like each other. You and Jacob I mean." She shrugged awkwardly, still looking in the direction of the boys.

Dani paused a bit to glance at her twin. "If by like, you mean we like to make each other's lives hard then yes." She said with a slightly impish grin as she managed to get one chair folded up.

Now it was Bella's turn to roll her eyes. "That's not what I meant Dani and you know it. Didn't you see the way he was looking at you while you played your violin for Billy? I did." She said insistantly.

Dani shook her head. "It's not like that. Jake is my best friend Bella. We've known each other since like...forever. Almost grew up together really." She shrugged and reached for her violin case.

"Anyway I saw the way _you_ were looking at him too. During dinner?" Dani teased making Bella blush again, but this time out of indignance.

"That was nothing." She said quickly, bending to pick up one of the folding chairs.

"Uh huh. Sure." Dani continued to tease her sister, picking up the other folding chair. "You really should have played with us Bella. It would have been really fun." She smiled more genuinely than teasingly now.

Bella shot her sister with a pointed look. "Yeah...all fun and games until I give someone a bloody nose or a black eye." She huffed, walking a little ahead of Danielle towards the car where their Dad was, talking with Billy.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Oh stop being dramatic. Mike didn't even bruise when you got him with the volleyball in gym class. You may be clumsier than a three-legged horse, but you're definitely not as strong as one." She retorted.

Bella gave her a dirty look. "Well maybe my clumsiness is what repelled Edward Cullen!" She said suddenly without thinking about what she said.

When she did realize it, she blushed and Dani froze for a minute before letting out an exasperated groan.

"Oh my God! Bella-."

"Hey Girls! Thanks again for coming down. I look forward to getting another personal concert again Dani." Billy joked, grinning as he wheeled over to the girls.

Danielle just shook her head at his joke and smiled back at the man, carefully leaned the folding chair against the side of the car as her Dad moved to unlock and open the trunk.

"Well you could just come down to Forks for my orchestra concert next weekend. Our spring performance is coming up." She beamed a bit as Bella hung awkwardly at her side.

Billy's smile turned more genuine. "I'll be sure to save the date. Have a good night Danielle. You too Bella. It was nice seeing you again." He nodded at Bella before rolling off to help the others clean up the rest of the barbecue party, waving at Charlie on his way.

"Bye Billy!" Dani waved while Bella only nodded, forcing on a brighter smile as Charlie shut the trunk door with a satisfying thunk.

"Goodnight Billy! Come on Girls." He motioned for the twins to get into the back seats and the girls complied, Dani securing her violin case on the floor of the car before climbing beside her sister who was awkwardly fiddling with her seatbelt.

"So!...Did you girls have fun?" Charlie asked lightly as he pulled out from the beach and back to the road that led out of the reservation.

Dani shrugged. "As much fun as I usually do at the Rez. You Bella?" She asked, glancing over in her sister's direction to see her pointedly staring out the window.

"I uh...I guess I had fun." Bella said after a moment. "The food was good anyway." She shrugged and Dani stifled a giggle.

"That it was." Charlie stretched awkwardly before bending back over the steering wheel. "You really should have hung around more with the kids though, Bella. They're all really good kids. Even the boys." He added on.

Bella blushed a little self consciously. "Yeah sure." She said softly, unsure of what else to say. Dani lightly nudged her in the leg with her knee and smiled at her reassuringly to break up the awkwardness.

"Don't worry Dad. I'm coming back soon to hang out with Leah. I'll be sure to bring Bella along then." She grinned and Bella gave her a look that was a mix between wariness and gratefulness.

"Good!" Charlie seemed satisfied as he pulled up at the first stop light.

"Plus, Angela and Jessica invited us to go shopping this week for Prom in Port Angelos." Dani added,

"Prom? Since when were you interested in going to Prom?" Charlie asked, furrowing his brow as he peeked through the rearview mirror at his daughters.

Danielle shrugged. "I'm not, but I told Angela I'd go with her and Jess to help them pick out dresses and plus I told Bella I'd show her that bookstore later that's on the same street. You know, just trying to help my sister assimilate here." She smiled again and gave Bella another nudge with her knee.

"And get her mind off of a certain pale kid." She said low enough so that her Dad wouldn't hear though Bella did.

Bella nudged her back a little more roughly in retaliation. "Shut up!" She hissed back indignantly.

"What was that?" Charlie asked, taking another look through the rearview mirror. Bella blushed some more and turned pointedly back towards the window while Dani faced forward, lightly rubbing her knee where her sister had jabbed her.

"Nothing Dad." She said casually, crossing her legs as reached another intersection. "Nothing at all."

...


	5. Chapter 5

(So I'm sorry I kind of forgot about this story for awhile, but I got some new inspiration for it so I hope you enjoy this next part. I'll try not to take so long for the next chapter. I own nothing but my OC.)

...

"Dad! We're heading off to the school!" Dani called into the house before letting the door swing shut behind her and Bella as the two girls carefully made their way down the steps towards the driveway.

"All right! Just be careful of the-!" Charlie started to call back until Bella let out a squeak and flopped backwards onto her butt on the concrete.

Dani snorted a laugh and quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the rest of her giggles as their Dad rushed to helped his fallen daughter up.

"...ice. You okay Darling?" He asked. Bella nodded and leveled a narrow eyed look at her twin. "Fine!...I'm fine Dad. Just...fell." She muttered, shaking her head as she reached to steady herself on the hood of the truck.

Dani pressed her lips together. "Yeah no kidding, Miss Graceful." She retorted sarcastically, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket to try to warm them.

"Hey! Lay off, Dani! It's slippery out here and ice doesn't exactly help with bad coordination." Bella protested, still lightly glaring at Danielle as she shuffled cautiously towards the driver's side door of the car.

Danielle shrugged and turned to move towards the other side of the car. "All right. Let's just hope you're more coordinated with your driving on this terrain. I'd like to get to school in one piece, if you don't mind." She joked, reaching to open the door.

Bella sighed. "I hate you." She muttered under her breath.

"You Girls should be fine. I chained the tires early this morning after I saw the ice and snow. Just remember to take it slow and take your foot completely off the brake if you start to skid." Charlie reassured as Bella clumsily pulled herself up into the driver's seat.

"Sure Dad." Bella nodded at her Dad before pulling the door shut and dropping her bag behind her.

"Oh! One more thing before you guys take off!" Charlie hurried over and put his hand on the window before Bella could close it.

"I'm going to be late for dinner tonight. A security guard down in Mason County got killed by some kind of animal last night and they've asked for additional back up." A slight frown crossed his expression then and both Bella and Dani matched it.

"An animal?" Bella asked, furrowing her brows in bewilderment.

Charlie nodded his head. "Yeah, you're not in Phoenix anymore Bells. This kind of thing does happen around here from time to time." He reached a hand to run through his hair while Dani chewed on her lip.

"Dad, that's awful. Don't worry, we'll save you enough dinner when you get back. Bella and I will take care of it." She said turning to glance at her sister in time to see her nod in agreement.

Letting out a sigh, Charlie nodded and moved away from the truck. "All right. Great! Have a good day at school then!" He waved.

Bella nodded. "Bye Dad! Thanks again for the tires!" She called after him before starting the engine of the truck with a deafening roar. Dani flinched then turned to snatch her seatbelt. "

"I hate that noise." She grumbled, making Bella chuckle a bit. "Well, it's not too late to ask Ch..Dad for a ride yet." She joked making Dani roll her eyes playfully.

"Har Har. Let's get going. We're going to be late." She folded her arms across her chest and sat back against the headrest. Bella reached for the gear shift and put the truck in the drive.

...

"Um, hello." A soft slightly unsure voice spoke in her ear and Dani flinched, whirling around from her locker so fast she nearly hit her head on the door.

Edward neatly stepped back at her sudden movement, his eyebrow shifting upwards a bit. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to apologize for what happened the other day after school. I was upset about something and wasn't really thinking about where I was going." He said without missing a beat.

A sincere smile curved a corner of his mouth, but Dani just stared at him. "Ummm...Thanks, but I'm not really the one you should be apologizing to." She said, reaching with one hand to grab a book from her locker before slamming it shut with a satisfactory bang.

Edward's smile fell and he nodded before falling into step beside her. "Right. I already plan on apologizing to your sister too...when we have Biology later today. She seems nice." He shrugged and Dani nodded.

"Good. And yeah, she is once you get to know her...and get past the 'I hate socializing and everything that's cold and wet' thing." She shrugged. Edward concealed a smirk.

"I see. Well what's it like readjusting with your sister back in town? I imagine it's...quite a change from what you've been used to." He tried to keep things at a friendly level.

Danielle shrugged and turned to face him as they neared her next class. "It's all right. Sure having to share my room is kind of a pain, but then again with Bella around I don't have to do all the cooking for Dad anymore. Plus we get to ride to school in her truck instead of the patrol car." She smiled a bit and Edward returned her smile.

"Yeah I bet that's nice. But you can't wait to get your own car, can you?" He asked, his smile turning a bit conspirational as Danielle turned away.

"Maybe, but..for now I don't mind bumping rides off my sister." She joked, adjusting the straps of her backpack a little as she continued to walk towards class.

Edward chuckled softly. "Well, personally I think a volkswagon beetle will suit you. More than your sister's truck anyway." He replied teasingly.

Dani started to laugh a little at that until she fully realized what Edward had said and froze in the middle of the hallway.

Edward stopped and gave her a strange look. "What?" Without replying Danielle gaped at him for a moment before finally shaking her head.

"Nothing. I just thought you said something weird, but maybe I imagined it." She shrugged and started to walk again. She turned to look over her left shoulder when Edward remained rooted to his spot.

"Are you okay?" She asked, feeling a little concerned at the deer-in-headlights look that had come across Edward's face.

Edward quickly snapped out of it. "Uh...yeah, sorry I just remembered I forgot something at my locker uh..."

"Wait!...What's with your eye color? Aren't they normally...like dark brown or something?" Dani cut him off. Edward grimaced as if getting an awful taste in his mouth and shook his head.

"No I...sorry I have to go!" He apologized again before turning gracefully on his heel and speed walking down the opposite direction of the hall, leaving Dani to stare after him with a stunned look on her face.

 _What the heck was that about?_

...

"Hello? Earth to Dani! Did you hear what I said?" Angela asked, snapping her fingers in front of her friend's face as they walked out from the gym together towards the student parking lot.

Bella had walked out ahead to start the truck and get it warmed up.

Blinking rapidly, Dani turned her head rapildy in Angela's direction giving her a quick apologetic look. "Sorry Ange, what did you say?" She asked, embarrassedly running a hand through her hair as her friend chuckled and shook her head dismissively at her.

"Forget it. You're obviously not in the mood to talk about Prom today. What's up? Why are you so distracted?" Angela asked as they got down the steps from the school down to the parking lot.

Danielle sighed. "First of all I'm never in the mood to talk about Prom and second, it's about Edward and Bella." She confessed, knowing she didn't need to hide anything from Angela.

"What do you mean?" Angela asked furrowing her brows slightly. "Are Edward and Bella...?" She trailed off and Dani quickly shook her head.

"No!...No, it's just last week Edward couldn't stand her for no reason and today according to Bella, he acted like a complete sweetheart to her in Biology. He acted weird around me too earlier. I don't get it." She sighed, grabbing onto a pole when her foot slipped on a patch of ice.

Angela shrugged and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "Well Edward's always been weird. You know that. I wouldn't think too much on it, Dani." She advised, but Danielle shook her head.

"No, but..." She started to argue and trailed off when she heard the unmistakable sound of tires screeching.

Turning their heads towards the sound, Danielle and Angela gasped when they saw a van skidding out of control as the driver attempted to steer it towards the exit of the school.

The car swerved again to the left and Dani blanched when she realized it was headed straight for Bella and the truck.

"Bella look out!" She shrieked, forgetting about the icy ground as she made a mad dash towards her sister.

Bella turned and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when she saw the out of control van getting closer to her location.

Danielle started to run faster, vaguely hearing Angela screaming her name when a cold hard hand shoved her violently away to the side, sending her crashing across the parking lot just before the sounds of metal crunching and brakes squealing rung through her ears.

"Oh my God! Dani! Are you okay?" "Holy Crap! Bella is still stuck between the cars!" "Someone call an ambulance!" "Make that two ambulances!"

Danielle let out a soft groan as frantic voices of the other students who had witnessed the incident floated around the area and through her ears which were still ringing from the fall and from the sound of the cars colliding.

Gritting her teeth, Danielle tried to get up only to halt any attempt at moving when a shooting pain raced up her shoulder.

"Dani?" Danielle tried to crane her neck to see who was speaking to her as a few figures began to surround her. "Ow..." She croaked, wincing when her shoulder continued to throb.

Angela quickly appeared in her line of sight and laid a gentle hand on her opposite shoulder before speaking again. "Don't move Dani. Jess is calling 911. The ambulances will be here soon!" She tried to be comforting, but Dani shook her head.

"Ange, Bella's still between the cars! You have to go check-!"

"Bella's fine!" It was Eric's turn to cut her off. "Cullen saved her. You can rest easy, Danielle. It looks like your shoulder might be broken anyway." He winced as his eyes fell on the slightly unnatural position of his friend's right shoulder.

Danielle let out a shaky breath of relief. "Thank God!..Thank God!" She shut her eyes briefly, opening them again when she heard the tell tale sound of sirens getting closer to the school.

"Hang tight, Girl. They're pulling in. How bad does it hurt?" Angela asked, looking up as one of the ambulances pulled over by the wrecked van and the other moved towards their location.

Danielle shrugged her good shoulder. "It's...about a six on a 1-10 scale." She bit her lip as two paramedics rushed towards her with a stretcher between them.

Suddenly remember that their Dad was taking out an out county call at the moment, Dani quickly shoved her hand into the pocket of her coat and held her cell phone out to Angela just as the medics knelt down at her side.

Eric immediately jumped in and explained about how she fell and likely fractured her shoulder.

"Ange, call my Dad and tell him what happened! Tell him to meet us at the hospital!" She pleaded as one of the paramedics began to ask her a series of questions while the other gently fitted a neck brace on her.

Angela took the phone and earnestly nodded her head. "I will! And I'll meet you at the hospital too!" She promised, opening the phone and hitting Chief Swan's speed dial before putting the receiver to her ear.

Smiling gratefully, Dani winced again when the medics gently tried to lift her onto the stretcher. As they started to lift her up to carry her into the ambulance, her eyes fell on the Cullen siblings.

They were standing close by, casting disapproving glances in Edward's direction as he gave instructions to the paramedics while refusing a stretcher of his own. Almost as if they were angry that Edward had tried to save someone from being hit by a car.

Despite her pain and the anxiety that still raced through her due to the shock of the accident, Danielle managed to feel confused before she was shut into the back of the ambulance where the increasing pain in her shoulder and the piercing wail of the siren blocked all other thoughts from her consciousness.

...

"Well, it looks like your shoulder is in fact broken, but it's a hairline fracture so it should heal fairly easily. Just make sure to keep your arm in that sling and don't try to carry anything too heavy for the next few weeks. I'll write you up a prescription for ibuprofen to help with the pain." Dr. Cullen smiled kindly at Danielle as he finished examining her and inspecting her cast.

Danielle smiled weakly at him return. "Thanks so much, Doc." She said gratefully as she looked down at the sling her right arm was now cradled in.

"Of course. You're actually pretty fortunate you took the brunt of your fall with your shoulder. You might be in worse shape if you'd hit your head instead." Dr. Cullen responded with a slight frown crossing his handsome features as he wrote something down on his clipboard.

Biting her lip, Dani nodded until she heard the sound of the doors flying open followed by a set of frantic heavy footsteps entering the ward where she, Bella and Tyler, the driver of the van that caused their accident were being tended to.

"Dani! Bella!" Charlie called in a panicky voice as he searched frantically for his daughters.

Spotting Tyler sitting on a bed with blood stained bandages wrapped around his head while a nurse tended to him, the police chief quickly jabbed a finger in his direction.

"You and I are going to talk later! Bella?..Dani?"

"I'm over here, Dad!" Dani called over to her Dad, frowning a bit at his hostility towards Tyler.

Charlie breathed visibly in relief upon seeing her. "Thank God! Are you okay? What happened? Your friends said you broke your shoulder! Is Bella-?"

"I'm fine Dad!" Dani gently cut him off, trying not to wince again as Dr. Cullen moved to greet her frantic father. "I'm a little banged up, but I'm okay. As far as I know, Bella's fine too." She tried to be comforting.

"Dani!" Tyler called over, leaning a little towards her from his bed. "I'm really sorry! I tried to stop! I really did!"

"Yeah I know." Dani nodded reassuringly, only too aware of the daggers her Dad was shooting in the boy's direction. "It's okay. Are you hurt much?" She asked before Charlie cut back in.

"It most certainly is _not_ okay! How fast did you think you were going? Did you even chain your tires this morning?"

"Dad!" Dani reached out with her good arm to stop his yelling. "Stop, it was an accident." She protested.

Charlie took in another shaky breath. "You two could have been killed today. You know that?" He asked, tensely as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

Dani nodded her head. "Yeah, but we didn't. Please don't yell at Tyler anymore. I think he knows it could have been much worse than it was." She said quietly.

Charlie sighed and took her hand carefully in his. "All right, but you scared me today. Both of you. When I got that call from your friend..." He trailed off and shook his head.

Dani gave him an understanding look. "I know. Sorry we scared you, Dad." She squeezed his hand. Charlie squeezed back then turned his attention to the doctor who had been quietly standing by for the past few minutes.

"So uh, what's the full diagnosis Dr. Cullen?" He asked as casually as he could manage. Dr. Cullen offered him a kind smile.

"Well Danielle's shoulder is broken, Chief Swan, but as long as she keeps it in the sling and doesn't try to use it too much, it should heal in no time." Dr. Cullen smiled reassuringly at Charlie while tearing a page from his notepad.

"No sign of head trauma, but she might experience some post-traumatic anxiety later on in the day. I'll send your painkiller prescription off with a nurse and check on Bella. Take care of yourself now, Danielle." He patted Danielle on the knee before leaving her bedside. Dani nodded at him.

"I will." Charlie took another deep breath and started to follow the Doctor, turning back towards Danielle briefly.

"Are you going to be okay for a while? I want to follow Dr. Cullen and check on Bella. If you need me to stay, I can-."

"I'll be okay." Dani was quick to reassure him. "Go on Dad." She smiled and Charlie nodded, patting her good arm one more time before shuffling off after the Doctor to another bed across the ward.

With a soft sigh, Danielle started to settle in on the slightly uncomfortable bed when the ward doors swung open again and she heard another familiar voice.

"Danielle! Hey, are you okay? What did Dr. Cullen say?" Angela scurried to her bedside, looking slightly disheveled as her eyes briefly fell on arm sling.

Dani grinned seeing her best friend. "I'm fine. My shoulder's broken, but the doctor said it should heal quickly." Angela smiled back.

"That's a relief. Everyone was freaking out about you and Bella since you went flying and Bella got trapped between her truck and Tyler's van. I thought I was going to have a panic attack really!" She dramatized and Dani laughed.

"So was I, actually. I don't even remember how I ended up falling across the parking lot." She frowned slightly. "I mean, I remember I was running to try to push Bella out of the way and then it was like something pushed me to the side." She fiddled with the strap of her sling.

Angela shrugged. "Well, the important thing is, you're okay and so is Bella. Although, not to be that person, but I think this is going to put a damper on our shopping plans this weekend." She gave a slightly apologetic smile, but Dani laughed it off.

"Nah, I'll still go. You just won't be able to make me try on anything." She joked and Angela laughed with her before suddenly remembering something.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" She shoved her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out Danielle's cellphone. "Here! Your phone. I was going to give it to your Dad when he arrived, but he didn't really stop in the waiting room." Angela shrugged and held out the device.

Dani gratefully took it from her. "Thanks Ange and you should have seen him when he came in here a minute ago. I thought he was going to rip Tyler out of that bed and take him straight to court." She rolled her eyes and Angela snorted a laugh.

"Yeah I can picture that. So when can you go? You don't have to stay overnight, do you?" She asked. Danielle started to shake her head when she heard the door to the ward slam again.

She and Angela both turned their heads just in time to see Edward Cullen fleeing the ward, the same angry scowl from last week on his face.

Angela let out a scoff. "Geez, what flew up his very expensive pants and died?" She laughed. Danielle narrowed her eyes. Then her gaze fell on the bed across from her where Dr. Cullen was bent over a clearly annoyed Bella.

"I have no idea." She looked down at her arm in the sling again and began wiggling towards the side of the bed.

"Whoa! Are you sure you should be getting up so soon? I mean you did just go smashing into the school parking lot earlier." Angela held up a hand in caution as Danielle slowly got to a standing position next to the bed.

"I'm fine, Angela." She gave her friend a reassuring look. "I broke my shoulder not my leg." Carefully, Danielle pressed her right hand against her stomach then and slowly turned to make her way across the ward.

"Okay, if you're sure. I'm going to get going now, if that's okay. My Mom's blowing up my phone and if I don't call her back now, I'll be in trouble." Angela gave Danielle a weak smile as she moved towards the exit and Danielle nodded understandingly.

"Okay. Text me whenever you get a chance and thanks again for calling my Dad and coming over to check on me and my sister." Angela shrugged. "No problem. Feel better soon okay?" She waved before skipping out of the ward.

Danielle returned the wave with her good arm before turning to join her Dad and Bella on the other side of the emergency ward.

"Well, everything looks good. You may experience some ptsd later on, but I think you're good to go Bella. You and your sister just take it easy for the rest of the day, all right?" Dr. Cullen smiled at the younger Swan Twin as he finished his examination and nodded up at Danielle as he noticed her inching over.

Bella gave him a half smile then met Danielle's eyes briefly before nodding her head. "I will. You okay Dani?" She addressed her sister, making Charlie turn to look over his shoulder at her.

Danielle nodded. "Yeah, you?"

"Yeah." Bella nodded back, casting her gaze downwards for a second before continuing. "But I guess it probably would have been a whole lot worse if Edward had gotten there when he did."

Danielle furrowed her brow in confusion. "Edward?"

"Edward?" Charlie repeated, his gaze flickering back to Dr. Cullen who frowned a little at the uttering of the name. "Your boy, Edward?"

Bella nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah it was amazing! He got to me so fast and he wasn't even anywhere near me." She explained.

Danielle tilted her head to the side in thought. "Adrenaline rush maybe?" She suggested, remembering she felt someone shove her to the side when she fell.

 _Did Edward push me out of the way before getting to Bella?_

"Maybe." Bella shrugged though she didn't look sure. Dr. Cullen finally looked up from his records. "Well sounds to me like you were extremely lucky. Make sure to pick up Danielle's prescription for her pain medication at the receptionist's desk before you all leave. Charlie?" He nodded at the Police Chief who nodded back in return.

"Thank you again, Dr. Cullen."

"It was my pleasure." Dr. Cullen's smile turned warm and friendly again before he weaved back through the crowd of nurses to the door of the ward.

Huffing out a soft sigh, Bella turned to slide off her bed. "I am so ready to get home." She groaned. Charlie nodded.

"Well, I'll go sign off the paper work, get Dani's prescription up and then pull the car around. You girls come slowly okay? Especially you." He pointed at Dani.

Bella started to protest. "Dad, what about my truck?"

"Already had it moved back to the house. Oh! And one of you might want to give your Mother a call." Charlie gestured at his two daughters just as Bella's face fell.

"You told her?"

Danielle winced, imagining the panicky state their Mother was likely in at the moment.

Charlie gave an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry. She's your Mother. She deserves to know what's going on."

Bella let out a groan and ran a hand through her long hair while Danielle shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Dad. We'll call her." She glanced at her sister and Charlie nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. I'll see you two in a bit." He strolled from the ward. Danielle chewed on her bottom lip as she watched the door swing shut after him.

"You're calling Mom." She deadpanned to Bella, making her twin whirl around on the spot to face her.

"What? Why?" She demanded, crossing her arms. Danielle inclined her head to the side. "Because you've lived with her more and therefore know how to make her stop wigging out faster than I do."

A slight grin quirked the side of her mouth and Danielle turned satisfied to walk towards the door.

Bella sighed and followed after her. "Fine! But dinner's on you then." She pointed at her sister.

Dani calmly motioned to her immobolized arm. "Broken shoulder?"

Bella groaned again and stalked out of the ward. Chuckling, Dani followed at a much slower pace, coming to a stop only when she spotted Bella in the middle of the hall face to face with a still scowling Edward Cullen.

Danielle frowned and peered around them just in time to see Dr. Cullen and one of his daughters hurrying away through the corridor.

"Yes you were!" Bella snapped in an insistent tone, making Edward narrow his eyes irritably. Danielle frowned at the confrontation, about to step in when Edward responded.

"Bella, you hit your head when you fell back there. It's possible the disorientation made you think you saw what you think you saw." He said evenly.

Bella's eyes narrowed. "No, I know what I saw!" She fired back and Danielle winced for the first time since the accident not in pain.

"Really? And what exactly is that?" Edward asked calmly.

Bella scowled at him. "You stopped the van! You pushed it with your hand and knocked my sister out of the way!" Danielle felt her breath catch in her throat at this accusation.

 _So Edward was the one who shoved me over? But how? I didn't see him there and the ground was so slippery he would have fallen trying to get to me from wherever he was...Right?_

"Is that so?" Edward sniffered, his eyes briefly flickering up at Danielle before he returned their focus to Bella.

"Well no one will you believe you even if you told them." He said as if that ended the discussion. Danielle furrowed her brows a bit as Bella continued to be persistent.

"I wasn't going to tell anyone if that's what you're worried about!" She called after him. "I just wanted to know the truth."

Edward turned back to face her with an aggravated sigh. "Can't you just thank me and get over it?" He retorted.

Danielle shook her head and stepped up next to Bella. "Bella, come on. We're supposed to be meeting Dad in the lobby." She reached to grab her arm with her good hand.

Biting her lip, Bella ignored her. "Thank you Edward." She said stiffly, her eyes still set in a scowl.

Edward matched her expression. "You're not planning on letting this go, are you?" He asked and Bella shook her head.

"Well in that case I hope you enjoy disappointment." Edward finished calmly, turning on his heel and strolling off after his family.

Bella stared after him, clenching her jaw in frustration until Dani nudged her again. "Bella leave it alone. Come on." She urged. This time Bella nodded and turned to head off down in other direction.

"Fine."

...


	6. Chapter 6

(Hey guys! Here's a new chapter for my Danielle story. I hope you enjoy! I own nothing but my OC.)

...

"Mom, I'm fine. Seriously! Stop fussing! I'm on painkillers right now anyway so my arm doesn't hurt that much and I'm getting lots of help with note taking in class. The only thing I'm bummed about is the fact that I'm going to have to miss out on the spring concert this weekend. Besides I'm not supposed to be on my phone right now. I'm technically still in school." Danielle chuckled as she tried to ease her Mom's worries while following Bella and their other classmates onto a bus.

Darting her eyes around, she checked to make sure Mr. Molina, the biology teacher wasn't nearby just as Mike Newton brushed past her calling out to Bella.

"Oh okay. Fine, I'll try!" Renee laughed in response. "I'm glad you're doing better though, Sweetie. Even though this takes you off the violin for a while. I told Bella to help out as much as possible. I mean according to her, you were going to save her when you fell so it's only fair, right?"

Dani nodded at this, pausing only briefly when her gaze fell on Alice and Edward Cullen seemingly having a private discussion by one of the buses. She quickly shifted her attention back to Bella who had gotten waylaid by Mike on the way to one of the buses designated to take their Biology class on their field trip.

"Yeah too bad we only have one class together and it's one I don't need a note taker in." Dani joked, freezing mid-step when she saw Mr. Molina heading their way.

"Mom, I better go. We're about to go on the bio field trip and I don't need to get my phone confiscated. I'll call you again later okay?" She said quickly, already in the motion of pulling her phone away as her Mom replied.

As she looked back up to see if Mr. Molina had caught her, a figure clad in a dark navy blue puffy coat walked into her path. "Hey Danielle! You got a second?" Tyler asked, smiling brightly despite the butterfly strips still stuck to the wounds on his face as he fell into step next to her.

Dani stared at him for a moment then shrugged. "I guess. What's up Tyler? How are your cuts?" She asked, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Tyler shrugged. "I'm doing good. It doesn't hurt so much anymore. What about you? How's the arm?" He asked, reaching out then retracting his hand immediately.

Danielle shrugged her good shoulder. "Same. The painkillers are helping a lot though I am anxious to not have to use this sling anymore. It's a little restraining and I can't play my violin with my arm like this." She chuckled and Tyler laughed with her.

"Yeah I can get that. So hey! I was actually going to ask, do you have a date to the Prom yet? I mean, I know it's early, but I thought I'd uh..well ask." Tyler shrugged a bit awkwardly.

Danielle pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. "Um...actually no, but I'm not really planning on going to Prom. It's not really my thing. Besides I already made plans for that evening. Sorry." She laughed nervously, hoping not to hurt Tyler's feelings too much.

Tyler's face fell the slightest bit before he shrugged it off. "Oh..yeah I understand. I just thought I'd ask." He nodded his head before perking up. "Hey do you know if your sister has a date yet?"

Danielle started to raise an eyebrow at the question when the sound of Mr. Molina shouting for everyone get on the buses so they could get going cut into her thoughts.

"Dani!" Angela waved at her from the doorway of one of the buses. Danielle nodded at her before turning back to answer Tyler.

"I'm not sure, but I should go get on a bus now before Mr. M loses it. Sorry about Prom, Tyler." She said with only a half hearted smile before hurrying to meet her friend, looking around for Bella at the same time and spotting her still walking with Mike.

"Oh no! It's no problem Dani!" Tyler called after her. Angela gave Danielle a questioning look as she stepped onto the bus.

"What was that about?" She asked. Danielle rolled her eyes. "Tyler asked me to the Prom, although I have a strong feeling he only asked me out of pity because of the accident. Not that I care of course." She muttered, heading further towards the back of the bus until she found an empty seat on the right.

"How do you figure?" Angela asked, curious. Danielle started to respond when Bella stumbled into the bus behind them, her cheeks slightly pink.

She shrugged her shoulder. "He asked me if Bella was still available right after I turned him down." Angela's eyes widened. "No way!"

"Way! But, luckily I don't care and I do have plans that I laid out since the beginning of the year." She grinned cheekily before sitting down in a seat next to the window a few rows back from the front of the bus.

"Besides, it's not like anything will go with this." She gestured to her sling.

Angela slid in quickly next to her. "Well you should still come to Prom. It's like a rite of passage. Me and Jess were talking about going as a group anyway if we can't get dates." She said reasonably.

Danielle shot her an incredulous look. "You? Not get a date? Please." She chuckled. Angela scowled lightly at her. "Hey, it's not like I'm the most popular girl in our year." She huffed.

"Although I _was_ hoping Eric Yorkie might ask me, but...he seems to have forgotten that I exist since your sister moved into town." She shook her head.

"He's not the only one." Jessica huffed as she sat down in the seat directly across from Angela and Danielle. "I just heard Mike and Tyler trying to ask her to Prom outside. Cullen was eyeing her too. She turned Mike and Tyler down, but..." Jess shook her head, trailing off with another soft puff of air as the sound of rushing footsteps lightly shook the bus.

Danielle frowned and looked down at her lap as she Mike and Eric rushed past them to take a seat near the very back of the bus, playfully shoving each other as they went.

"Well...the good news is, Bella is as enthusiastic about dancing and social events as I am so, there's still a chance you guys will still have your ideal dates before the big night." She said optimistically, hoping her friends were cheer up.

Angela gave her a half grateful smile and Jess started to look more thoughtful then annoyed when the bus driver clomped onto the bus and plopped down in the driver's seat.

"All right! Is every aboard?" He asked. "Oh wait!" A familiar breathless voice echoed from somewhere outside the bus and Danielle looked up just in time to see Bella, after tripping on the first step stumble clumsily onto the bus, flushing a bright red in embarrassment before looking desperately down the aisle.

Shaking her head ruefully, Danielle gave her sister a sympathetic look as she finally found a seat near the front and sat down next to a girl who immediately tried to start a conversation with her as a boy behind them leaned forward.

"Seriously, what does she have that I don't?" Jess complained, not loud enough for anyone more than a row away to hear.

Angela inclined her head to one side in thought while Danielle shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

...

"Ugh! Longest four hours of my life!" Angela complained as they walked out of the greenhouse they'd been touring with the rest of their class, Mr. Molina still talking a mile minute at the head of the group about the "wonders of compost".

Danielle chuckled in agreement as she followed the crowd to where the buses waited to take them back to school. "You're telling me. Although I'm still not sure if Tyler didn't actually drink that stuff earlier." She added, thinking back to the beginning of their trip when Mr. Molina demonstrated the use of the compost machine.

Angela made a face and began to laugh with her when both girls looked up at the sound of their names being called. "Guys!" Jessica dashed up from where she had been previously near the front of line, beaming with excitement as she lightly bumped into a girl wearing a knit cap on her way to her friends.

"You'll never guess what just happened! Mike Newton just asked me to Prom! Just now!" She exclaimed, gesturing wildly with her hands just as Bella walked past with Edward at her side.

Danielle briefly stared after them before returning her attention to her friend.

"Jess, that's great!" Danielle enthused. Angela nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess now _I_ just have to get a date." She muttered, with a half smile as she reached to tug her beanie down.

"And Dani!" Jessica piped in, lightly jabbing Dani in the arm and making her roll her eyes. "I already told you, I'm not going. There's no point with this." She gestured towards her injured shoulder.

Jess gave her an unbelieving look. "Your shoulder will heal enough by then. Come on, you skipped out on Sadie Hawkins, Winter Formal and even Homecoming. I don't think it's right anymore that you miss out on Prom too." She crossed her arms.

Danielle started to respond, but another voice cut in first. "Dani and I already have plans then." Bella piped in, making Dani whirl at her. "We uh...we're planning on going back to Jacksonville that weekend to...to visit with our Mom." She said slowly, nodding her head a bit as if trying to convince herself of what she just said.

Arching an eyebrow at her, Danielle started to respond when again she found herself cut off, this time by Jess. "Oh. Well okay then I guess. You're still going to come and help me pick out a dress, right?" She asked as Mr. Molina called for everyone to start reloading the buses.

Dani nodded. "Of course. After Angela gets a date." She winked at her best friend who scoffed playfully in return.

"Very funny."

"Hey! Girls! Come on, we don't have all day!" Mr. Molina raised his voice, spurring the friends into action.

As the girls began to quickly disembark from the greenhouse steps back to the parking lot, Danielle turned to address her sister as Bella nearly missed a step and caught herself on Danielle's good shoulder.

"You know, you are the worst liar in the world. I'm surprised Jess and Angela didn't call you out on it. We're going to Jacksonville? Really?" She muttered just low enough so their friends wouldn't hear.

Bella blushed and avoided making eye contact with her. "It...doesn't have to be a lie." She said unconvincingly. Danielle made a soft noise of disbelief.

"Forget it, Bells. We can't just pick up and go to Jacksonville that weekend. It'll be in the middle of Phil's season for one thing. Besides, Dad just got you back. He's not going to be happy if you tell him you're already homesick." She pointed out.

Bella sighed and started to respond when she froze suddenly upon reaching the first couple buses by the curb.

Furrowing her brows, Danielle turned to follow her gaze meeting the steely golden orbs of Edward who was leaning on one arm against one of the buses.

"Hi Danielle. How's your shoulder?" He asked, still maintaining the scowl on his face as he shifted his gaze from Dani to Bella and back again.

Dani shrugged. "Getting better. Thanks for protecting her by the way." She gestured to Bella with a genuine smile. "Even if I hadn't slipped on the ice, I probably wouldn't have gotten there in time to do anything so, thanks." She said sincerely.

With a look that seemed almost like a wince, Edward stiffly nodded mumbling something that sounded like "Sure." as he suddenly found his feet very interesting.

Dani paused for a second, taken aback by Edward's response before shrugging it off and moving to get on the bus she saw Jess and Angela board earlier.

Suddenly Bella snapped.

"You know, if you really regret saving me that bad maybe you should have let that van crush me." She spoke up, startling Dani and making Edward stiffen as if someone had just hit him.

"Bella." She called out to her softly with a bit of bewilderment and warning in her tone, but her sister ignored her.

"You think I regret saving you?" Edward asked, almost sounding angry and making Dani shrink back a bit instinctively.

"I know you do!" Bella fired back, the glare on her face burning into Edward's though it nowhere near matched the intensity of the Edward's.

"Bella! Stop! Come on, we got to get on the bus." Danielle tried again, this time grabbing Bella by the arm to try to pull her away.

Edward pushed off from the bus he was leaning on to level the younger Swan Twin with a withering stare.

"You don't know anything!" He hissed before stalking off to get on a bus a few feet away only for his sister Alice to suddenly walk up.

"Oh hey! The bus is about to leave. Are you two riding with us too?" She asked, quickly shifting her attention from her brother to the twins and flashing a bright smile in their direction.

"No, they're not. Our bus is full." Edward retorted before Bella or Danielle could respond first, leaving them standing in a brief stunned silence as Edward stalked off and Alice followed after giving the sisters a somewhat awkward and apologetic smile in return.

"Okay, I'm not going to lie. He was being really weird and that was kind of rude, but what was up with your sudden outburst?" Danielle found her voice first, but Bella just shook her head.

"You didn't hear him while we were in greenhouse!" She snapped, attempting to stalk over to their bus before her feet slid a bit on the gravel.

Danielle stood dumbfounded for a second before the sound of a bus horn honking shocked her into action and she ran after her sister.

...

"Bella, are you staring at Edward again?" Jess asked with a giggle, making Bella jump and turn her head back around to face their table with a blush.

"N-no." She stammered.

"Again, you are the worst liar ever and I think you know it. Seriously, what did Edward say to you at the greenhouse that was so bad?" Danielle chimed in, her eyes narrowed at her sister as she carelessly poked at her slice of cafetaria pizza with a fork.

Bella responded with a withering scowl. "I said, I don't want to talk about it, Danielle. Seriously, are you never going to drop it?" She said exasperated.

Danielle started to answer when Mike, Eric, Tyler and a couple other kids suddenly rushed over to their table.

"Hey guys! We're talking about making another run to La Push after school today. Want to come along? There's a big swell coming in so I heard." Mike piped up and Jess beamed brightly at him.

"Sounds fun."

"Yeah, you know I'm always down for a day at La Push." Dani chimed in, forgetting about her frustrations with her sister for a moment. "Especially since I was already planning on going again." She fiddled with her sling.

"Yeah we know you are." Angela teased, earning a playful shove in return.

"La Push...Isn't that the Indian Reservation we were at a couple weeks ago?" Bella asked, frowning a bit as she directed the question at Dani.

Dani nodded in confirmation. "Yup. But you don't have to come again if you don't want. Usually a good group shows up for these outings and if I didn't love the Rez or my friends so much I'd probably skip out too." She said sincerely, dodging when Angela flicked a piece of lettuce at her.

Bella started to offer her a grateful smile when Eric suddenly butt in, squeezing in between Bella and Angela.

"Aw come on Bella! You should come! It'll be fun. You could watch me surf something other than the internet." He bragged, earning a snicker from Jessica as Bella blushed as usual from the sudden attention.

"Eric, you stood up once on a foam board." Jess pointed out.

"Hey, I've gotten better!" Eric tried to defend himself. "Besides it's La Push baby, La Push." He playfully nudged Bella in the arm with his elbow.

Bella let out an awkward laugh.

"Anyway, there's also whale watching and sometimes you can find neat things in the sand if you walk by the shore. You should totally come. It'll be fun." Angela chimed in though Bella still looked reluctant.

"La Push Baby!" Eric sing-songed again this time inciting the laughter of those around him. Blushing again, Bella stood abruptly from her seat, grabbing her empty plate.

"Okay, you know what? I'll go if you stop saying that." She said, cheeks still pink as she rushed over to the salad bar on the left side of the cafetaria.

Danielle got up to follow her, grabbing her own plate as the laughter recommenced this time in reaction to Bella's retort.

"You seriously don't have to go if you don't want to." She whispered with a sympathetic smile as she got into line next to her sister and concentrated on putting some lettuce bits on her plate.

"They were just messing around with you."

Bella artfully added some kale to her salad before answering. "I want to go." She said as convincingly as she could manage.

"Bella," Danielle started to respond, knowing how much Bella hated being in large groups of people when a tall figure in a blue long sleeved shirt suddenly walked into their path.

"Edible art?" Edward asked, startling Bella enough for her to accidentally knock the apple she was about to set on her plate off the salad bar and step backwards into Danielle's foot.

"Ow!" Danielle hissed just as Bella sprung away from her mumbling a soft sorry.

The apple landed on Edward's foot and he bounced it up into his hands as if it were a rubber ball instead of an apple.

"Sorry. Here you go." Edward cleaned the apple off on his shirt and offered it back to Bella with a warm smile that completely contradicted the glare he'd been shooting Bella's direction since the beginning of lunch.

Bella gaped at him for a second before finding her voice. "Uhh..thanks. But you know, your mood swings are starting to give me whiplash." She picked up her plate and turned to walk back to their table and Danielle did the same after grabbing an apple for herself.

Edward suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I only said that it would better if we weren't friends. Not that I didn't want to be." He retorted as if that excused everything.

"Meaning?" Danielle asked, knowing she probably shouldn't butt in, but unable to help herself when this could be her chance to figure out the mysterious beef that between her sister and Edward Cullen.

Sparing Danielle the barest moment of a glance, Edward returned his attention to Bella. "Meaning, if your sister was smart like you, she'd let it go at thank you and avoid me as much as possible." He responded, a bit of the iciness Danielle remembered from the end of Bella's first day at Forks High coating his tone as he spoke the words.

"Okay then, let's say for argument's sake that I'm not smart. Would you tell me the truth about how you got to me so fast that day when the van got out of control?" Bella snapped back, the determination glowing in her eyes.

Edward furrowed his brows as if contemplating, but he quickly shook his head while Danielle glanced between them a bit confused.

"No probably not. I'd rather hear your theories instead." He said dismissively, still staring at Bella with an intent as if he were studying her.

With a vague sigh, Bella shook her head and reached to add some more lettuce to her plate. "I considered...radioactive spiders and...kryptonite." She scoffed, her cheeks flushing a bit as if she were suddenly embarrassed by her guesses.

Danielle did her best to stifle a snort while Edward looked mostly amused. "Oh...well that's all superhero stuff, right?" He followed Bella as she moved to get some carrots next.

"But what if I'm not the hero, Bella? What if I'm...the bad guy?" He asked in full seriousness.

Curling her lower lip into her mouth, Danielle pretended to be trying to decide between tomatoes and bell peppers as she listened for Bella's response and kept an eye on both of them through her peripherals.

"You're not." Bella responded with so much conviction, Edward looked a little taken aback. "I can see what you're trying to do and I can see you're just using it as a mask to keep people away...But you shouldn't."

A slight wry smile spread across Edward's pale cheeks then and Danielle couldn't help grinning as well.

"Well...you're not wrong about one thing." He said a bit smugly. "It would be better if you and I didn't associate too much with each other after this point."

Bella shook her head. "Look, why don't we just hang out?...We're all going to the beach today. You should come." She offered.

This made Danielle look up from the salad bar.

"Uh...what beach?" Edward frowned, suddenly seeming unsure of himself. Bella shrugged. "La Push."

Edward avoided her gaze. "Um...I'm not sure." He shook his head and started to shuffle away. Bella stepped after him.

"Why? Is there something wrong with that beach?" She persisted. Sensing an argument about to begin again, Danielle started to shuffle forward to distract Bella when Edward walked away first.

"It's just a little crowded for my taste." Bella stared dumbfounded after him.

"Why does he keep doing that?" She asked, sounding both frustrated and confused. Danielle shrugged and gave her a little nudge in the arm with her good shoulder.

"I wouldn't stew about it too much. I tried to ask his sister Alice to hang out once after we finished our French project and she declined too. I don't think the Cullens like hanging out with other people much." She shrugged one shoulder and started to head back to their table.

With a sigh and disgruntled shake of her head, Bella moved to follow.

...

"Gosh! It's freezing here! How haven't they turned into like...ice yet?" Bella wondered aloud, shivering as she wrapped her arms around herself while walking along the beach with Angela and Danielle while some of the others looked for shells and interesting pieces of driftwood and a couple of the boys tried surfing in the water.

Danielle shrugged as she glanced over towards the waves just in time to see Eric fall off of his board.

"I don't know. Boys are just weird." She reached to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, missing the slightly mischevious smile Angela shot her from her right.

"Bet you don't think that Jacob guy is weird." She teased and Danielle whipped her hed around in her direction.

"Oh my God Ange, for the last time-."

"Hey! No way!" A familiar voice shouted from across the beach, cutting Danielle off and catching the three girls' attention.

Danielle turned to look back over her left shoulder, careful not to twinge it and grinned when she saw Jacob, Quil and Embry approaching.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

"Yeah, are you guys like stalking her or something?" Bella joked. Jacob laughed as Danielle shot her twin a dirty look.

"Um, you guys are on our Rez remember?" He played along making everyone in the group laugh.

"I guess he's got a point." Angela shrugged. Embry stepped a little closer to the girls.

"So how's the shoulder doing Dani? We heard you pulled a Bella and slipped on the ice." He chuckled and Dani rolled her eyes.

"It still hurts a bit, but the pain meds help. And I only fell because _this one_ didn't have the sense to run when a van was coming straight towards her!" She pointed at Bella who blushed at the playful accusation.

"Hey! I froze! Give me a break!" She whined. Jacob stepped forward and clapped a hand on Danielle's good shoulder before pulling her into a quick hug.

"Well anyway, we're glad you're both okay. Are you guys just here with a group from your school today or...?" He glanced around and Danielle nodded hugging Jake back.

"Yup. You remember Angie and Jess right?" She asked, pulling back to gesture at Angela before glancing over at where Jessica and another girl were picking through some pieces of driftwood and seaweed near the shore.

Jake nodded. "Sure!" He shrugged. "Oh and uh just so you know, Leah's kinda mad that she had to find out about your accident from us so, I'd probably at least call text her or something." He shrugged seemingly helplessly while still grinning at his friend.

Danielle sighed. "Yeah, I'm sorry I was too busy being in pain and trying to get my erratic mother to stop freaking out to remember to call everyone." She grumbled playfully, pulling out her phone as everyone chuckled around her.

"Well speaking of the accident," Angela began, looking over at Bella.

"Bella invited Edward Cullen to come with us, but he declined."

"Yeah shocker there. Everyone knows the Cullens never come out." Jessica added as she walked by flicking some seaweed at Danielle who dodged and retaliated by playfully kicking some sand at her.

"Yeah not only that, the Cullens don't come out to La Push. Ever." Quil piped in. Embry nodded in agreement while Bella furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Why is that?" She asked, her cheeks still pink. Danielle glanced over at her before shrugging her good shoulder. "I think Jacob should explain that to you. Ange, want to see if we can find any good shells further down the shoreline?"

She turned towards her friend and pointed towards the bluffs receiving a slow nod from Angela who looked at her suspiciously.

"Uh sure." She glanced back at Bella who started to give her sister a protesting look, but Danielle was already walking away.

"What was that about?" Angela asked as she and Danielle moved away from Bella, Jacob and the others and stepped carefully over gnarled bits of driftwood.

Danielle bent carefully to pick up a shell from the ground only to toss it away when she noticed it was chipped.

"I've already heard the legends of the cold ones before. Once from Jake and twice from his Dad and Mr. Clearwater. Besides my Mom's been badgering me about sending her some seashells to make necklaces with. You know her spontaneously always changing pursuit of hobbies." She grinned wryly and picked up another shell.

Angela bent to pick up another, a little smaller than the one Danielle had found. "I guess..." She trailed off and glanced back at where Bella and Jacob were walking along the opposite direction down the shoreline, heads turned close to each other as if deep in a private conversation.

Danielle followed her gaze then quickly turned back away. "Angela, Jacob and I are not a thing and we're not going to be. So it's fine! Besides maybe talking to Jake more will make her stop obsessing over Edward." She rolled her eyes and bent to pick up what looked like a tiny snail shell.

Angela nodded in agreement. "Maybe, but-." She started to say and got cut off when a well worn soccer ball suddenly plummetted through the sky into the sand barely missing Danielle's nose by a hair's breadth.

Letting out a shriek, Angela jumped away from the ball before it could land on her toes while Danielle blinked and fell back on her butt in shock at the close call.

"Hey!" A loud voice boomed from somewhere across the beach just before three guys clad only in cut-off demin shorts jogged towards the two girls. "Are you guys okay? Did it hit you?"

Catching her breath, Danielle turned slowly to face the speaker coming face to face with the most intense pair of dark brown eyes she'd ever seen.

"I...No I...think we're okay!" She clumsily tried to push herself back onto her feet with one hand until a large callused brown hand thrust itself in her face a moment later.

"Here. Did you hurt your arm?" The boy who had shouted at them to ask if they were all right asked as he almost knelt to help her.

Danielle glanced back up at him only to shiver at the way he was looking at her. It was almost like a mixture of intense fierceness and concern. More intensity than care.

"Uhhh..." She struggled to find her voice before placing her good hand into the boy's grip. "I...broke my shoulder a few days ago." She murmured just before the boy gripped her hand and pulled her up from the sand with a surprisingly powerful yank.

In her surprise, Danielle stumbled forward slightly barely managing to catch herself before she could land embarrassingly on her savior.

She still blushed when she realized she braced herself on his bare chest and almost instantly straightened away though her fingers still tingled at the warmth that had emanated through his skin.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked, still looking at her with that strange intense yet somehow caring expression on his face as he studied Danielle's sling for a moment.

Danielle nodded her head. "Y-yeah I'm fine." She stammered, nodding back to where Angela had been silently watching the whole exchange. Her eyes were as round as dinner plates.

The boy sighed, seemingly satisfied though he opened and closed his mouth several times as if about to say something then changing his mind at the last minute.

Finally, he stuck out his hand again. "Good...I'm Paul." He introduced and Danielle found her gaze moving involuntarily towards his hand again.

"Danielle." She replied, shaking his hand briefly before pulling away again. She clenched her jaw to keep from shivering again at the strange feeling his gaze and touch evoked from her again.

"Oh yeah, you're Chief Swan's daughter, right? You hang out at the Blacks and the Clearwaters a lot?" Paul asked, running his hand through his hair which unlike Jacob and his friends was cut short.

Danielle nodded. "Yeah that's me. I have a twin sister too. She's over there with our other friends." She turned back to where Bella and Jacob could still be seen now sitting on a log while still talking.

Paul barely acknowledged them. "Cool. Well I guess, maybe I'll see you around then? The next time you come down to the Rez?" Danielle shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe." She started to turn to walked back down to where the others were and turned her head to give Paul a quick grateful smile before rejoining Angela.

"Anyway thanks for helping me up. Enjoy your game." She nodded at the soccer ball which Paul seemed to have completely forgotten about since they started talking.

Angela bent to murmur in her ear as the girls walked out of earshot of Paul and his two friends who had been watching the earlier exchange with mostly unreadable expressions on their faces.

"Dude...he's still staring at you." She said with a soft giggle, making Danielle's cheeks flame up as she clenched her hands at her sides.

"Shut up! No, he's not!" She hissed, pulling her friend along with her before picking up her pace though her cheeks felt a bit flush and her stomach still tingled with the effects of her encounter with Paul.

Angela snorted another laugh and turned to face her friend with a large grin still on her face. "You know, maybe you were right about you and Jacob. I think this guy might be a better date to the Prom." She smirked.

Danielle turned a narrowed eye look at her. "Are you ever going to stop trying to set me up with one of the guys on the Rez?" She placed her good hand on her hip.

Angela shrugged. "No." She turned to run away back towards their group on the beach. With a shake of her head, Danielle quickly moved to follow her.

...


End file.
